Bound
by OmniscientPancake17
Summary: Astrid Hofferson's life was changed forever the day she was engaged to Hiccup, the village screw-up. Taking her mother's advice, she decides to give friendship a shot. There's no way she'd fall for him, clearly. But as she gets to know Hiccup Haddock, the lines she's drawn start to blur, and when he starts keeping treasonous secrets, Astrid is bound to get caught in the middle...
1. Arranged

**(6/12/2020): Hey, everyone. I decided to rewrite my opening author's note since it doesn't really apply as much as it used to. I'm leaving this note to commemorate my _Bound: Definitive Edition_** **project that I'm thinking of doing. Since I won't be writing anything new for at least the foreseeable future, I thought it would be nice to go back through some of my old writing and touch it up some. And since _Bound_ as it is celebrates its 1-year completion anniversary, it seems like the perfect time to pull the trigger here.**

**I've already cleaned up and added to the first chapter below. There aren't a huge amount of differences, but I did add some details throughout that brought the word count up by ~500-700 words, so that's cool. The overall goal is to make the narrative more cohesive.**

**I don't know how often or to what extent I'll be reworking the rest of the chapters, but I think I'll keep track by adding to the last "chapter" and changing it from a sequel announcement post to a checklist of sorts that will spell out which chapters have been redone. I'll also put an A/N at the top of each chapter that gets the _Definitive Edition_ treatment summarizing the changes.**

**So, let's begin! As should be common knowledge here, this chapter shows us Hiccup and Astrid at 14 years old, roughly a year prior to the events of the first movie. Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to check out the sequel, _Ghosts,_ if you haven't already! There are just 3 chapters left to go in that story as of this writing.**

* * *

**_1\. Arranged_**

The sun was setting on another day on Berk, bringing a late autumn chill with it. Once the sun was beneath the horizon, the night would turn frigid, as it often was when the sky grew dark, especially now. Winter was nearly here, and with it would come a whole new batch of annual problems.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III trudged down the path toward his home. It had been another _long_ day in the forge, full of weapon orders, backbreaking work, and sweltering heat. A dragon raid was expected tonight, and every Viking on the island needed their weapons in peak condition.

Dragons, noun. The huge, terrible, and scaly abominations that besieged Berk and their neighbors as often as they could, stealing food and destroying buildings and taking lives. The reptiles were unfortunately a staple of life on Berk. Hiccup almost snorted at the thought. While other places suffered attacks from mice or mosquitoes, the Isle of Berk commonly received visits from hordes of twenty-foot lizards that breathed fire.

Most people would leave. Not Vikings, though. Their entire culture was apparently centered on mind-boggling feats of strength and unmatched prowess on the battlefield. Not to mention that they tended to be pretty stubborn and hardheaded. Throw all those things together and you got a tribe of people who had stayed put on the same island for more than 300 years despite Mother Nature screaming at them to find somewhere more hospitable to live.

Hiccup had never exactly fit that mold for the ideal child. He'd been smaller than the other boys growing up, and he was still smaller now, sporting a skinny torso with even skinnier arms and legs, a penchant for the intellectual, and an infuriating, self-deprecating sense of humor that was all too often sarcastic. Those same traits had led him down a different path when it came to everyday life. While the other Vikings lived simple lives and handled tasks "the Viking way", Hiccup took to building machines and contraptions in the name of efficiency. Unfortunately, his creations were decidedly _not_ efficient, often causing damage to the town and bringing constant ridicule down on himself. This didn't stop Hiccup, though. He kept trying, confident that one day he'd make his mark.

It had all led to his embarrassing title: Hiccup the Useless. Other Vikings had to reach adulthood before they earned their title, but not Hiccup, apparently. The rest of the village had wasted little time coming up with that gem of a nickname, and it had stuck like glue. His own father had come to accept it after several years of Hiccup's disappointing lack of growth and stuck him in the forge as an apprentice to the blacksmith, Gobber. Sometimes Hiccup felt that Gobber had been more of a father to him than his actual one had ever been. It had been that way ever since his mother died, at least, which had been so long ago that Hiccup couldn't even remember her face. Hence, it was sensible to suggest that his father had always been this way, scowling and disappointed and hard-hearted.

At least the forge had admittedly made him stronger. He still couldn't lift a hammer for much more than a few seconds, or swing an axe, or throw a bola, but there had been progress.

Eventually, the dirt path ended, and Hiccup was standing in front of his house. The sun was all but gone, casting a red glow in the rapidly darkening sky with the last of its influence. For the first time, Hiccup caught a whiff of just how bad he smelled. The long day at the forge had made him sweat through his own clothes, creating an undesirable smell that clung tightly to him. In addition, smudges of soot decorated his skin, earned from the close-up work in the coal-fired forge.

Hiccup sighed. There was no reason for him to stay out any longer, as much as he wanted to avoid his father, who was surely inside.

The door was thankfully silent as Hiccup pushed it open. He peered inside, spotting a hulking shape bent over the fire. Creeping in with practiced precision, Hiccup turned to close the door, hoping it would be just as quiet. He was so exhausted; he really didn't want to deal with his father's constant disappointed scowl on top of everything else. But of course, the gods hated him. Hiccup gently nudged the door back into place, only for the hinges to creak noisily and give away his arrival. Hiccup bit back a curse. He didn't need his father to overhear foul language in addition to the poorly-oiled, scheming front door.

"Hiccup," came the voice of the shape at the hearth. There was a scraping sound that Hiccup knew to be the noise of his father turning in his seat.

"Dad. Hi, Dad. H-how was your day?" Hiccup stammered, reluctantly turning around to face the man. His interactions with his father always made him uncomfortable, and for obvious reasons. Stoick the Vast, the chief of the Tribe, was an entire chest, shoulders, and head taller than his son, and at least four times as wide as him on top of that. They didn't even look related.

Stoick did his best to answer the question. "It was… typical." The secret elephant in the room nudged at Stoick's brain. Today had been anything _but_ typical. Today Stoick had done something he'd never done before in his time as chief, at least, not where it had concerned his son. "Hiccup, I… I need to speak with you."

"Oh, um… okay," Hiccup answered, nervous. What had he done wrong now, he wondered? He shuffled across the room, halving the distance between him and his father.

"Er, there's no real easy way to say this, but..." Stoick started, embarrassed as he struggled to just spit it out. Since when had speaking become difficult for him? "I made a deal today. It's important. I… I felt it was the right time."

"Dad, just tell me what this is about," Hiccup grumbled. He wasn't feeling patient tonight, and really wanted to just bathe and go to sleep and be done with this entire conversation. He and his dad never had an easy time speaking to each other.

"You're getting married. The contract was drafted today."

Hiccup's legs nearly gave out from underneath him. His mental fortitude shattered, and he stumbled back, processing the words over and over before he finally managed an answer, "M-married?"

"Not for a few more years. But your wife-to-be is set in stone," Stoick said.

Hiccup fought off the urge to hyperventilate. "Why?"

"You are nearly a man," said his father.

"I'm fourteen!"

"Yes, I said you were nearly a man." Hiccup scoffed and averted his eyes, earning a measured huff from his father that suggested he was already teetering on the razor's edge of his spectacularly limited patience. "Son, you are the heir. There are things expected of you that are unlike any other boy in the entire village."

"Yeah, and I've hardly lived up to those expectations," Hiccup grumbled.

"Maybe," Stoick said, not really helping Hiccup's already-low self-esteem. "But this was a move to secure your future. It won't be long before other fathers will start looking for their sons' future wives. I merely jumped ahead of the herd."

Hiccup sighed, knowing that arguing was useless and that there was no way out of this. He should probably go ahead and commit to memory the name of his unfortunate wife-to-be, if the contract was already sealed. "So… who's the lucky girl?"

"The Hofferson lass," Stoick answered quickly.

"_Astrid?"_ Hiccup balked, voice an octave too high. Astrid Hofferson. He was engaged to _Astrid_ _Hofferson_. Fearless, independent, beautiful Astrid Hofferson who was by far the best warrior of his generation. The very same girl who'd owned his heart since he was old enough to feel attraction. Just the sight of her blonde hair and bright blue eyes made his heart race. She was everything he could ever want.

She also hated him.

That brief rush of euphoria came to a screeching halt. "A-Astrid?" Hiccup repeated, "Dad, she hates me!"

"She doesn't hate you, son," Stoick said.

"Well, she certainly will now!" Hiccup snapped, "She won't want this! Did you even think about that when you signed this contract?"

Rather than show a modicum of sympathy, Stoick's disappointed scowl came out to play. The chieftain's bushy red eyebrows angled downward over his eyes, an angry vein rising from beneath the surface of his skin to bulge on his forehead. "You should be grateful that I betrothed you to someone from Berk! I could've very well bound you to someone from another island that you've never met! You will be the chief one day, after all, and alliances are built on marriages! Would you prefer that, son!?"

Hiccup faltered, a retort catching in his throat. His father had him beat, there. "…No. No, I wouldn't."

"There you have it, then. This is the best possible outcome, son," said Stoick. Hiccup let his gaze fall lazily to the wayside, choosing to just ignore that he was being spoken to in order to avoid another argument. "This may not be how you imagined it in that head of yours," Gee, _that_ was a tad degrading, "but that is life. You will thank me for this, one day."

Hiccup sighed, "Yeah, Dad. I need a bath… and then I'm going to bed."

Stoick was silent as Hiccup walked towards the washroom, where a hot bath had already been drawn. His father had long since made a ritual of heating water for bathing as soon as he returned home from a day of chiefing. Hiccup always went first at night and then generally disappeared into his room. Stoick usually respected his privacy, drawing another hot bath for himself and washing off the day's wear and tear.

Hiccup took an especially long bath tonight, and not because he was sweatier and dirtier than usual. The hot water, though, could only help the turmoil lodged in his head so much. Eventually, he emerged from the washroom clad in his sleeping clothes, disappearing without so much as a look towards his father into the privacy of the loft that made up the house's second floor. The room was dark, for a torch had not been lit this evening, and Hiccup decided to leave it that way, crawling under his ample amount of sleeping furs and shivering for a moment as he grew accustomed to the new warmth.

His father's words continued to echo in his head.

_You will thank me for this, one day._

Hiccup snorted, muttering his response to only himself, "Yeah, if I'm even alive to see that day."

* * *

Astrid briskly walked home, her trusty axe dangling in her grip. From her neutral expression, passersby would assume it had been another difficult day for the Hofferson girl. In actuality, it had been quite good. She was _finally_ starting to perfect her technique on the one-arm axe throw, and she had countless splintered tree trunks to prove it. She'd decided a long time ago that she was going to be a shieldmaiden. She would never marry, never bear children, and live only to serve her tribe in blood and battle.

A few Vikings rushed past her to their guard posts. A raid was expected tonight, and the watch was to begin as soon as the sun started to set. If the chief was right on his estimates—and he usually was—the beasts would attack late that night, waking most of the village from their tense slumber. Everyone would have to be at their best, including Astrid.

If only her duties during a raid were more than putting out fires. She was the best warrior of her generation, and an argument could be made that she was already better than some of the adult warriors in the village. Oh, how she longed to be entered in dragon training, where she would surely win and start her journey to becoming the legendary dragon killer she was destined to be. Unfortunately, she still had another year to wait, since recruits had to see fifteen summers before they could be admitted to training.

Astrid half-smiled as her home came into view, and she pushed open the door with a growing grin and hung her axe on one of the hooks jutting out of the wall by the front door, proudly holding it in her gaze like it were her child. The edges were starting to look dull; she would need to get it serviced again soon. She would've done it today, but she'd run over with her training and Gobber had already closed up shop by the time she'd resurfaced in the village.

_A problem for tomorrow,_ she decided. When Astrid turned, her parents were seated at the table, their figures obviously tense.

"Hey. Is everything alright?" Astrid asked, certain that there was no need for the question. She was young, and though she was mature for her age, she wasn't privy to the everyday struggles of her family. Her naïveté were understandable.

"Astrid…" her father, Ingvar, started. His tone was uneasy, "Please come sit down."

Okay, maybe there was a need for the question. Astrid shuffled over, unsure what this could be about, and sat down in the same chair that she always sat in. Ingvar was to her right, while her mother, Edna, sat to her left. Was she in trouble?

Ingvar reached out to touch her hands. The man had always been brutally proud of his daughter and loved her so. "Astrid, we need to speak with you. Chief Stoick came by the house today."

"He did? What did he want?" Astrid asked, still oblivious. She wracked her brain, wondering what she might've done wrong. She'd helped Ruff prank her brother the other day, but that was a one-time thing! Was she truly going to be reprimanded the one time she stepped out of line? Eyebooger's yak was _fine._

"He… he wanted to inquire with us about a contract," Ingvar explained. He exchanged an uneasy glance with his wife. "A _marriage_ contract, to be exact."

Astrid was puzzled for exactly two seconds before she connected the dots.

No.

_No._

Edna saw the burgeoning anger on Astrid's face and stepped in, placing her hand on Astrid's, "Astrid, you have to understand..."

"How much?" Astrid hissed. She snatched her hands away as if she were some sort of starving animal defending its food.

"What?" Ingvar asked.

"_How much?_ How much did you sell me for?" Astrid repeated, "What was the price to sell me to Hiccup?"

"Astrid, we didn't sell you…" Ingvar tried.

"Don't lie to me!" Astrid snapped, a hint of tears starting to form in her eye, "Both of you know I don't want this! I don't want to marry _anyone,_ whether it's Snotlout or Tuffnut or Hiccup the U—"

"_Don't,"_ Edna snarled, cutting Astrid off. Astrid avoided gaping at her mother, settling for a venomous glare. "Don't you _ever_ call him that name."

_Useless._ That's what Edna meant. Astrid mentally scoffed. Why was she defending him all of a sudden? Deciding that it didn't matter and that she'd rather attack her more immediate betrayer, Astrid turned to glare at her father, white-hot fury smoldering in her pristine blue eyes.

"I won't marry him," Astrid said defiantly.

_That_ set Ingvar off. The tall, normally cool-headed man fumed, suddenly pounding a clenched fist down on the wooden table. "That is not your decision!" he snarled, "I am your father, and as long as I am responsible for you, you will _do_ what _I_ say!"

Astrid went to spit out a response, but her father held a certain sway over her. As much as she wanted to hate him, she knew better than to disrespect him any further. So instead, she stormed out of her seat and thundered out of the room, feeling every bit as ridiculous as she probably looked. One slammed bedroom door later, Astrid flung herself onto her bed, clenching her pillow in a death grip and absolutely _refusing_ to shed the tears trying to spill from her eyes.

This wasn't how things were supposed to go. She was supposed to be a shieldmaiden, just like she'd always said. But within the snap of someone else's fingers, that dream was dead.

Astrid wasn't sure how much time had passed when there was a knocking at her door. Without her explicit consent, the door slid open and Edna Hofferson poked her head into the room. Astrid peered over her shoulder and, recognizing her mother, immediately returned her smoldering glare to the headboard of her bed. Sadness flicked across Edna's face and she slipped inside, shutting the door tight behind her and briskly walking to Astrid's bedside. Edna sat on the edge of the bed and reached out for her daughter. Astrid tried to shuffle away from Edna's reach, but she failed miserably, and her mother's hand fell lovingly onto her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Astrid," Edna said.

"That changes nothing," Astrid seethed. Still, she made no move to shake her mother's comforting hand away. Perhaps it was keeping her grounded, just barely.

"You have to understand, Astrid. This… this was an offer that we simply couldn't refuse," Edna tried again.

"You signed my entire life away," Astrid choked out, "You couldn't have let me have a say? You've _always_ known that I wanted to be a shieldmaiden. But that can never happen now."

Edna gave a weary sigh. "Astrid… I need you to look at this from the bright side."

"_What_ bright side?"

"Well, for one, the marriage won't happen for a few years. In many Viking villages, you would've already been married off by now. The chief did not want to force this marriage on the two of you immediately," Edna explained, "Secondly, you are engaged to Hiccup, the chief's son."

"I don't see the upside of the second point," Astrid interjected.

Edna didn't miss a beat, "You'll be the Lady of the Haddock house, second to only the Chief. And have you ever known Hiccup to be violent, or vengeful, or disrespectful? That poor boy gets belittled all day long, and he smiles through it."

"Why do you defend him?" Astrid asked, "He's a screw-up, always messing up the village with his stupid inventions."

"I was close with Valka, Hiccup's mother, before she died," Edna said, "She loved that boy with everything she was. Once Hiccup was old enough to speak and learn and _understand,_ I just knew that he would take after her. She was kind, and intelligent, qualities that are constantly apparent in Hiccup, and far too rare in the rest of the men of this island."

Astrid failed to notice that she'd calmed down as her mother went on.

"And yes, the boy does sabotage the village from time to time, but it's not his intention. He merely wants to be noticed. No one in this village shows him any respect, and that includes _you,_ little lady."

Astrid gulped, now feeling a tad guilty. She'd never really devoted much time to wondering what it was like for Hiccup, living without a mother. She had been lucky enough to live her whole life so far with two healthy parents. Hiccup had never had that opportunity. "Then what would you have me do?"

"Talk to him. Really _talk_ to him, Astrid. Be his friend. The poor boy is likely just finding out about all of this as we speak. Knowing him, he'll be worried about you. I've seen the way he looks at you," Edna said. There was a certain hint there in her voice, suggesting something Astrid didn't approve of.

Astrid scowled anew. "That's the way that all the boys look at me," she growled with disgust.

"No. It's different. It's not like that Snotlout. Hiccup looks at you and all I can see in his eyes is... admiration… marvel at the woman you're becoming. I think that he will surprise you, if only you give him a chance."

Astrid deliberately ignored this part of the conversation, "So… be his friend, then? Try to get to know him?" Edna nodded. "I… I can try."

"I know you can, love. And I am so sorry that you have to find out this way. But one day, I am confident that you will thank us for this," Edna said, "Now, I'm going to let you sleep. If there's a raid tonight, you'll need your rest."

Edna stood up off of the bed, walking towards the door. Standing in the open doorway, she glanced back at her daughter, watching Astrid breathe with her back to her mother. She didn't linger, slinking back into the common room after a brief pause and closing the door behind her.

Those words played over and over again in Astrid's mind. _I am confident that you will thank us for this._

Astrid didn't feel like telling her mother not to hold her breath.

* * *

"He's boar-headed and stubborn!" Hiccup declared, "He never listens!"

"'E's your father, then, that's for sure," Gobber chortled, standing over the fire and watching a slab of metal begin to melt down. The old blacksmith's humor was not particularly appreciated by Hiccup, and it earned Gobber a displeased scowl. "Y'know, in all my years, lad, I'd 'a never expected ye to be so _disappointed_ that you were marrying _Astrid."_

"I'm not disappointed that I'm marrying Astrid," Hiccup defended, "I just know that _she'll_ be disappointed—no, _furious_—that she's being forced into marriage at all, and to me of all people."

"Yer the chief's son!" Gobber insisted, nudging the glowing iron with his prosthetic. "She has to be happy about that!"

"Astrid doesn't _have_ to do anything. Sh-she wouldn't come near me if she were on fire and I had the last bucket of water in town," Hiccup fired back. He looked down at the sword he was sharpening, trying to put all of his focus on perfecting the blade.

"Laddie, you have ta understand that this is how life works around here," Gobber said, "And if Astrid has to marry anyone, don't ya think she'd be grateful that it's _you?_ Could ya imagine her having to marry _Snotlout?"_

Hiccup nearly threw up in his own mouth before responding glumly, "I'm not sure who that would hurt more, me or her."

"Oh, definitely her," Gobber answered. He banged on a slab of metal with his hammer-hand, shaping the hot iron into a wicked battle axe. They passed the next few moments in silence, letting the noise of their labor fill the void. Hiccup glanced up from the grindstone he was stationed at, unwittingly meeting his mentor's gaze. Gobber wiggled his eyebrows at him. "Whatcha thinking 'bout, laddie?"

"I'm dreading the moment when I have to speak to her," Hiccup lamented, "What am I even going to say?"

"Well, ye won't have much time to think about it! 'Ere she comes right now!" Gobber hooted, holding the white-hot axe in his hands. There was a splash of water as he dunked it into a barrel to cool the steel.

"_What?"_ Hiccup gasped, dropping the sword he'd been sharpening and looking out the open window to the forge. The metal clattered to the floor loudly, and Gobber threw a cross look at him, but Hiccup was too preoccupied looking frantically out the forge window. Sure enough, there she was, storming towards the smithy with her axe in hand. Hiccup briefly wondered if the axe blade would be tearing into him in the next few moments. "Oh, gods, I need to hide."

Gobber shook his head, "'Fraid not, lad. I need someone to run the smithy. I need to… clean the… tub." The blacksmith wiped his hands and sauntered towards the back, grinning cheekily as he went off to complete his definitely fake errand, "Hold down the fort, 'Iccup!"

And then the back door slammed shut, suddenly leaving a cold chill in Gobber's absence. Hiccup only had a few seconds to stare at the door, trying to will Gobber to return, before there was a _clank_ at the smithy's window. Hiccup half-jumped, turning to the window and going pale as he recognized Astrid. Her face was marred by some emotion that Hiccup couldn't place, and she was looking him dead in the eye.

"Astrid!" Hiccup blurted, trying and failing to keep his voice at a normal pace and play dumb, "Hi, Astrid. Hi, Astrid. Hi, Astrid." He silently cursed himself. In all the years that he'd been so terribly head over heels for the blonde warrior woman, never had he been so horribly nervous, and that was saying something! "Um, Gobber's not here, so—"

"I'm not looking for Gobber," Astrid interjected.

Hiccup's mouth went dry. "Oh, um… you're not?"

"No," Astrid said, the tip of her tongue razor-sharp. "We need to talk."

_Gulp._ "We… we do?" Hiccup said.

"I know."

There was only one thing that she could possibly be talking about. Continuing to play dumb would only make her angrier, and that would not be good for his health. "Oh, Thor," Hiccup murmured, "Astrid, I'm so sorry, and I swear that I had nothing to do with it. I-I-I only found out last night, and—"

"Stop talking," Astrid hissed, slightly irritated by his rambling.

Hiccup flinched, subconsciously taking a step back. "If you're here to kill me, do you think you could make it fast? I'm really not a sucker for pain and suffering."

"I'm not going to kill you."

Hiccup paused, "You're not?"

Astrid shook her head, her eyes smoldering. "So… what are you here for?" Hiccup asked tentatively.

Astrid's eyes softened a little, and she dejectedly pointed her eyes at the ground. "I don't know," she admitted, "I had a talk with my mother last night, and… I guess I decided that I should get to know you. You know, as friends."

"Friends?" Hiccup repeated, not quite sure that what he was hearing was real. Astrid had hardly ever given him the time of day.

"She talked about your mom for a bit."

"Oh…" Hiccup said sadly, "I… I don't really remember her. I was still a baby when she died."

"I never knew her… I mean, I knew she existed, obviously, but…" Astrid admitted. Her gaze flicked back up at him. For the first time, she really noticed the deep green color of his eyes. They were so different from the rest of the Viking eyes on Berk. She felt like she could stare into them for days. The rest of her pent-up anger started to melt away, suddenly replaced by a sinking feeling that she couldn't describe. "I-I'm sorry. This was stupid, I shouldn't have…"

"No, no," Hiccup quickly interrupted, his hands reaching out almost defensively. "This is just a little… out of the blue, I guess. I wasn't expecting this, I… I would be happy… if you wanted to be… friends."

"Friends who are sort of… engaged," Astrid said, looking down, "To be married."

Hiccup winced. "Yeah, there is that one… complication," he muttered. He endeavored to lock eyes with her again, finding it more difficult than it normally was. "Ah, is… is that all?"

She looked at him, puzzled for a moment, and then remembered her other reason for coming to the forge. "Oh! No. I… I need my axe worked on."

She quickly snatched her axe from its place on her back, shoving it across the small section of wood dividing the forge window from the outside. Hiccup took it meticulously, admiring the craftsmanship for what was not the first time. He'd made this very axe himself for the girl standing in front of him. He wasn't sure if she knew that. They'd been twelve at the time, and Hiccup had devised a plan to win the girl's affection with the perfect gift: a brand new, shiny, beautiful battle axe. Gobber had helped him make it, giving him tips and advice along the way, but the craftsmanship itself had been all Hiccup, his entire heart and soul poured into the weapon.

He hadn't mustered up the courage to tell her that he'd made it himself, or that it had been made so specifically with her in mind. She'd thought it was merely a Snoggletog gift from her parents. And life went on. He saw the axe again every few weeks to give it a good sharpening or perform simple maintenance such as rebalancing the weapon or repairing a broken edge.

Maybe he'd tell her the truth someday.

"What happened to it?" Hiccup asked, noticing that one of the blades had been suddenly worn down and damaged a little more so than usual.

"Threw it at one too many trees," Astrid explained, "I need it tuned up if I want it to stick in anything again."

Hiccup lowered his arms, quietly relieved when he didn't drop the weapon completely. "Oh. Nice job. Sounds like all that training's paying off."

"Not as much as Dragon Training will. I can hardly wait to finally get to do it."

"That would be the end of next autumn, right? It'll be here before you know it."

"If you say so."

Hiccup hefted the axe on top of the grindstone, starting it up and getting to work. Astrid watched as the sparks flew off of the metal and then glanced around the forge, a sudden curiosity overcoming her.

"Do you mind if I come in?" Astrid asked.

"Huh?" Hiccup asked, not believing his own ears. Before he could actually answer, Astrid vaulted over the wall and into the smithy, looking around curiously.

"You know, as often as I come to the forge, I've never actually been _inside_ it," Astrid remarked. She approached the forge's warm hearth, sticking her hands in the heat's direction. A purr that she would never admit to tickled its way out of her throat and she shuffled closer, appreciating the intense heat. It was still fairly early in the morning, and that meant that it was still rather cold outside. The hearth's warmth was a welcome change.

"Yeah, this place is like a second home. Sometimes I actually feel more at home here than I do in my own house."

Astrid faltered, letting her arms drop to her sides as she pondered Hiccup's words. "That's… I'm sorry to hear that," she finally said. "Why do you feel like that?"

Ugh. Here she was, talking about _feelings_ with _Hiccup._

"Oh, you know. My dad stuck me in here years ago in an effort to keep me away from the rest of the village. We don't really get along all that much anymore. I'm not the perfect Viking son he always wanted, never have been," Hiccup explained, "And the village… Thor, they all just look at me with disgust, like I'm some runt that should've died off ages ago. I'm sure if I actually _did _die, most of them would cheer from the rooftops."

_I wouldn't,_ Astrid realized.

"Here, Gobber treats me like an equal… most of the time, anyway. He doesn't care about all…_ this._" Hiccup gestured to himself, drawing Astrid's eyes _briefly_ to his scrawny build.

"I'm sorry," Astrid said, "But you have good qualities. You're… smart."

"Yeah, you make it sound so positive," Hiccup grumbled, lifting the axe off of the grindstone to briefly inspect its edges.

Astrid scowled and punched him on the arm, nearly causing him to drop the axe. "I'm serious," she said.

A wry smile crept onto Hiccup's face and he looked at his feet, silently hoping that he wasn't blushing. He determinedly went back to work before he could ruin whatever this was that they were sharing, touching up the final edges of the axe blade. Astrid walked around the forge awkwardly from there, not having the slightest clue of what to try and talk about.

Making friends was even harder than she thought.

"Okay. You're all done," Hiccup eventually said, bringing the axe off of the grindstone and twirling it in his surprisingly steady hand. He gazed almost lovingly at the blade as Astrid approached. The work was expert as always.

"Here, let me get some money…" Astrid started, reaching towards her pocket.

"No."

"What?" Astrid asked, looking up at Hiccup incredulously.

"You don't owe me anything. It's on the house," Hiccup insisted.

"You're serious?" Was he trying to offer her charity, trying to make up for her being betrothed to him? That line of thinking sent a bubbling bile creeping up her throat, foul-tasting and irritating.

"Yep. Gobber won't mind. He likes you," Hiccup said. _I like you._

Astrid relaxed, reached out, and reluctantly took the axe from Hiccup, forgoing any form of payment. Suddenly unsure of herself, she turned to leave the forge until Hiccup interrupted her by reaching out and brushing her arm. The young warrior woman whirled around, her natural battle instinct telling her to attack, but she instantly calmed at the sight of Hiccup's eyes.

"So, um… will I see you around?" he asked.

Astrid wasn't exactly sure what to say. She had never really given Hiccup the time of the day before, at least not since they were little.

All things considered, he'd made a decent first impression (how horrible was that, labeling this as his first impression when they'd known one another all their lives? Maybe her mother had had more good points last night than Astrid wanted to admit). She was enjoying talking to Hiccup. Maybe she'd continue to enjoy it.

"Of course. I said we were friends, didn't I?" Astrid asked with a leer, slightly defensive in an effort to hide the strange emotions pooling in her gut.

"Y-yeah, you did. I-I just didn't know if that was like… serious, or not," Hiccup murmured.

Astrid snickered and punched him on the arm again, making him wince. "Yeah, Hiccup. You'll see me around."

"Oh, o-okay. Great. That's great. So, um, goodbye? Yeah, goodbye," Hiccup stammered, finally forcing a smile. Astrid stared at him for a moment and then snorted, shaking her head and vaulting back out of the forge. She jogged her way out for a moment, slowing to a walk once she was halfway across the town square.

Hiccup quickly resolved to stop staring, turning back to the work that Gobber had left him with. That old jerk had better be back from _cleaning the tub_ soon. He picked up a bent sword from the pile and strolled to the furnace to begin heating it up, that smile he'd forced staying on his face and becoming real.

His back was turned when she looked over her shoulder, wondering why she wanted another long look at his green eyes.


	2. An Axe to Grind

**(6/14/2020) Looked through this chapter as part of the _Bound: Definitive Edition_ project. It's a fair bit longer now, with some more worldbuilding details and such as well as some edited dialogue. The point of this chapter remains the same, though. I could never come up with anything to fill the big time gap between this chapter and Chapter 1, and we've still got to get to the would-be events of the first movie since this story is really just a big ol' rewrite.**

* * *

**_2\. An Axe to Grind_**

_NINE MONTHS LATER_

Icelandic cod. Again.

It wasn't that she hated the fish, it was just so boring. Sure, there were lots of health benefits in fish that the meats of animals like yaks and sheep could never boast, but at least those had a flavor. But these days, it was tough to get one's hands on good yak meat or mutton. Most of the families that held livestock had to save the yield of their animals for themselves before distributing what was left across the village. And with the summer raids in full force, the amount of _extra_ meat to go around was... not ideal.

It was one thing to not have enough food to begin with. It was another thing entirely to have a sizable percentage of your potential food swept up in the claws of fire-breathing lizards on a twice-a-week basis and taken away before it could be harvested.

So, Astrid took most of her meals in the Great Hall, claiming her share from the communal food reserves. Her own family usually had enough food to go around, but with no livestock to call their own, the Hoffersons had to build their larder from what others were selling in the market, a practice that was expensive and not always fruitful. In that regard, Astrid considered taking the free food from the Hall to be a small service to her parents, a statement that she could take care of herself and not be a strain on them. Children were expensive, every Viking on Berk knew that.

That didn't mean the cooks couldn't be bothered to sprinkle some seasoning on the fish, though. The cod was tough and tasteless today, even more so than usual. Astrid took the meal in pieces, chopping the meat up as much as possible and inspecting each piece to ensure it was actually fully cooked before she ingested it. Food poisoning was not a favorite pastime of hers.

"Afternoon, milady. Is this seat taken?"

Hiccup's voice was almost like a stirring saga to her ears. Astrid glanced up, getting an eyeful of auburn hair. He was standing on the other side of the table, a gap-toothed smile gracing his face as he cradled an identical plate of food in one arm. He'd grown a few inches in the last nine months, now a boy (man?) of fifteen years. He had yet to reach the point where his body filled out, but Astrid supposed that progress was progress.

She was a few hairs taller as well, retaining her hold on him in height by a narrow inch. Her blonde bangs were longer now, some of the strands escaping the confines of her kransen. The long locks that ran down her back were always bundled up now, tightly tied together to keep them from swinging every which way when she fought. Her training was paying off. She was fast and capable, earning the watchful eyes of many of the older warriors. Every now and then, she'd overhear words of praise about her potential, and each time made her prouder than the time before.

They were friends now, too. Astrid came by the forge often, even learning her way around the art of blacksmithing and offering another pair of hands when things grew busy, which ended up being surprisingly often. The war on dragons had grown in intensity and it had led to more and more metalwork. Berk needed coin and supplies now more than ever, and many of the new metal goods were shipped off to be traded with the neighboring tribes and surrounding markets to provide those things.

"No, Hiccup. It's all yours," Astrid answered, letting out a snicker as the skinny boy quickly plopped down on the bench with his plate of food. It was decidedly meager, holding only a single fish and some chunks of cabbage. The boy never ate all that much. It was just part of his nature, no matter how much Astrid tried to encourage him to eat more.

No matter how much they had come to enjoy one another's company, though, they _never_ broached the topic of the _arrangement_ that existed between them. By now, the entire village had been aware of the engagement for months, and it hadn't been very well received in most corners of town. All too often, Hiccup overheard muttered curses and lamentations that Astrid had been tied to _him,_ spoken by bitter mouths at low volumes they'd thought he couldn't hear. He pushed on regardless, though. He'd had better people say worse things to his face. In any case, the time to discuss their engagement would come, but as for now, neither wanted to discuss it and risk damaging whatever it was that they had now.

"You really don't need to keep calling me that, you know," Astrid said, brushing a hand through her bangs. He'd thrown out the nickname a few months ago as a tease, and somehow, she'd been okay with it. She'd hit him on the arm for it, but that actually translated as _okay_ in Astrid's book. It had been... charming, so she tolerated it. One way or another, the nickname had stuck, and it became Hiccup's term of endearment for her, akin to _friend_ or _pal._ At least, she hoped that's what it was.

"I like it when it makes you blush."

"It does _not_ make me _blush."_ Sometimes, she really wanted to hit him. Most times, she actually _did_ hit him, though always with a harmless slug on the arm. Well, maybe harmless for her. He often said _ow_ when she did it, but she never could figure out if she was actually hitting his bony arm too hard or if he did it to satisfy her. He never complained beyond the usual groan about Astrid and _violence,_ so she assumed it was fine.

"If you say so, milady," Hiccup drawled, and Astrid summoned a scowl to her features that she only half-meant.

"You're insufferable."

"That's my job," Hiccup replied. Astrid let a chuckle slip from her mouth and started to pick at her meal some more. She stole a glance at the boy as he did the same. Somehow, there was an understanding that she didn't actually mean the things she said in a negative way. She didn't _mind_ the nickname. So why did she get defensive over it sometimes?

Was there more to it? Sure, she liked Hiccup a lot, but as a friend. A friend that she happened to be engaged to. Love seemed like an impossible emotion to Astrid. She loved her parents, but that was it, and that type of love was completely different from the romantic kind. It was something she didn't know how to feel.

A plate clattered onto the table beside Astrid's, making her entire body go rigid as an all too familiar shape smacked down into the seat beside her. Snotlout flashed a smarmy grin, smelling of some unpleasant fragrance that he was probably certain made him more appealing.

"Hey, babe. Did I tell you that you look amazing today? Because you do," Snotlout said. Hiccup frowned and Astrid whirled on Snotlout, staring him down with a smoldering glare.

"Snotlout, I've told you a hundred times _not_ to call me that," Astrid said, bristling. Few people could draw such fury out of her like Snotlout could. Where she didn't much mind Hiccup's friendly, possibly-vaguely-romantic terms of endearment, Snotlout's less subtle attempts were absolutely maddening.

Snotlout had the audacity to snort. "C'mon. You know you love it."

"_No._ I _don't,"_ Astrid seethed, gritting her teeth.

"You're intense. I like that. So, how much did Stoick offer your dad? Because again, my dad would be happy to rescue you from your _unfortunate—"_

Snotlout turned his head to gesture at Hiccup, and Astrid used his poor lapse in judgment against him. She closed her hand around Snotlout's wrist and twisted, producing a sickening _crack_. Snotlout made a pitiful croaking sound, barely containing what seemed to be the beginnings of a high-pitched squeal of pain, and fell off the edge of the bench. She let go of his wrist as he fell, taking a certain enjoyment in the sound of his back slapping against the Great Hall's floor.

"Pig," she spat, immediately standing up and climbing over the bench to head towards the door. She deliberately stepped over Snotlout on her way, even leaving her half-full plate behind.

"The offer will stand as long as you want!" Snotlout groaned. Astrid chose not to dignify him with a response, instead continuing to stomp off. Hiccup gulped, quickly scarfed down the food left on his plate, and surged after Astrid, ignoring Snotlout's pained moans.

* * *

He probably should've intervened.

Not to protect Astrid or defend her honor or anything-gods knew she didn't need help doing that-but just to keep anyone (by which he meant Snotlout) from getting hurt. Unfortunately, the spectacle of watching his boisterous cousin get slapped around by a girl had been too enticing for him to pass up. Snotlout had a sometimes-beneficial tendency to not know when to just shut up.

Hiccup hadn't waited very long to give chase. His cousin had still been sprawled out on the floor moaning and wailing when he'd gathered up the things on the table and left. He'd made a point to clean his plate quickly as Astrid left, taking her abandoned meal with him. She needed to eat, even if the food wasn't very tasteful.

Fortunately, he wasn't too far behind her when he emerged from the Great Hall. The village was mostly empty at this time of day, so Astrid's blonde hair was all too easy to pick out from his vantage point atop the stairs. She was crossing through the town square at a brisk pace, and he had a good feeling where she was headed if she wasn't going to her house.

Hiccup galloped down the steps and followed, tailing her down the familiar path to the smithy. Astrid had made a habit of visiting for a while now, though there was a wide range of reasons for said visits. The forge had become her second-favorite place to express her anger, behind only the woods. He didn't really know why she ever sacrificed the privacy of the forest for his presence at the smithy, but he'd been around for enough of her furious spells that he didn't much care anymore.

The forge was a mess when he started walking up the hill. He noticed a flash of blue-Astrid's shirt-as he walked up, and less than a moment later there was a loud crashing of metal. Hiccup winced, tightening his grip on the plate in his hands. He knew what the sound was, and he crossed into the forge to confirm his suspicion. Astrid stood before a pile of various chunks of metal. The shelves where Gobber stored it all were out of order, a few baskets had been yanked from the wall and emptied of their contents, now lying off to the side. Astrid's knuckles were ice-white, clenched tight around the handle of her battle axe.

Hiccup cleared his throat and she looked over her shoulder. Her mask of anger creased, fracturing into a pallid look of mortification.

"I..." she started, trailing off for a moment to consider her words, "I didn't hear you come in. Sorry." She drew her bottom lip in, embarrassed.

"Well, it was kind of loud for a second there."

There was a pause, and then Astrid genuinely started to laugh. She bit back the full force of it, allowing only a long series of snickers to escape from her lips, but the sound made Hiccup's heart flutter all the same. He always liked making her laugh.

"You're not wrong," she said, "It's just... stupid Snotlout. Thor strike him dead, he's denser than Gronckle hide." The roof of the forge covered her with shade, casting her in a grim light. She took a deep breath, grip loosening on the axe as she leaned back against the forge's wall.

"You can't let him get to your head, Astrid. That makes him think that it's working."

"I know, I know," Astrid muttered. In the past nine months, Hiccup had tried to teach her to control her temper, and in some cases, it had worked. It was a tall task, though, and he knew it. He supposed he couldn't blame her. "It just felt really, really _good_ to do that."

Hiccup smiled. "Oh, it felt good just to watch you do that." They both chuckled darkly, recalling Snotlout's pained grimace as she'd twisted his wrist out of place. No doubt, the insufferable Jorgenson would be back for more within a day or two, but for now that was at the back of both their minds. "So, should we work on the axe?" She'd told him this morning that she wanted to sharpen her axe after lunch. The blade needed it, she'd gone extra hard this morning killing trees.

"Sure," she affirmed, handing it to Hiccup. He graciously took the weapon and went to work on it with the grindstone. Sparks flew as the wheel met the metal, steadily shaving down the divots and dull edges.

"You weren't kidding. You did a number on this thing today," Hiccup said. The grindstone screeched intermittently as it touched the steel blade.

Astrid brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "I got a little carried away."

"Nothing wrong with putting in extra work. Only a few more months until dragon training starts," Hiccup remarked.

"Yeah. It's kind of weird to be excited for winter," Astrid replied. Hiccup snorted in answer. "But I can't wait to show them what we've got. I've been working on my techniques and I'm really happy with where I'm at as far as that goes."

"Well, good. If you're happy, I'm happy," Hiccup said, squinting at the blade as he tried to focus.

Astrid saw through him, familiar with that tone of voice. "What's wrong, Hiccup?"

Hiccup lifted the axe off of the grindstone, holding it suspended in the air as he sighed. "I just don't know if I'm going to even get to be a part of dragon training." He glanced up at her, no longer able to match her height now that he was sitting on a stool.

"What?" Astrid asked, her brow furrowing. "You can't be serious."

"I wish I wasn't. My dad and I never talk about it," he grumbled, "I mean, if we didn't live in the same house, I wouldn't even know that he's my father. You know that we hardly ever talk about anything. A-And when we do, he's always looking at me with this disappointed scowl, like he's been cheated, or someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich."

In their time together, Hiccup had talked a _lot_ about his strained relationship with his father. Often times, Astrid struggled to believe it. "I'm sure it's not actually that bad," Astrid offered.

"And I'm sure that you're wrong about that," Hiccup retorted. Astrid flinched, and Hiccup softened, "I… I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I can take it," Astrid assured him, "Have you ever talked to him about any of that?"

"Of course not. He wouldn't understand."

Astrid let her eyes wander the forge, letting them rest on a curtain cordoning off a small corner of the smithy. She knew that it was Hiccup's room, but he'd been fairly resolute in his refusals to allow her back there since they'd become friends. She'd always wondered what he could be hiding there. Now, all of a sudden, she really, really wanted to know.

Hiccup looked up once he realized that Astrid was walking away from him. He deduced where she was headed and scrambled away from the grindstone, dragging the axe with him and letting the machine slow.

"Oh, ah, Astrid, y-you're not exactly supposed to, ah, go back there, that's my—oh, crap."

Astrid pulled the curtain back, her eyes greeted with a mountain of papers and parchments littering the walls and floor. The room was well and truly a mess.

She stifled a chuckle, confused and oddly amused. "What is all this?"

Hiccup immediately started rambling, head and shoulders and arms bobbling as he went, and Astrid knew she'd found something that—for all intents and purposes—she had never been meant to see. He supposed it had always been a matter of time before she discovered the place. He'd probably done as well as he could've, barring her from the room for a whole nine months.

"Oh, well, you see, it's really just a, uh, _collection_ of projects and things like that. Nothing too serious, really, just ideas and things to do in my spare time."

Astrid crossed the threshold of the room. Hiccup's slanted desk was pressed up against the wall to the left of her in the entranceway, likewise decorated with papers and scribbles. She reached out and grabbed one, curiously reading the runes scrawled across it. Charcoal marks formed an intricate design the likes of which she'd never seen.

"The Mutilator," Astrid read aloud, "Huh."

"Oh, uh, you found that." A shiver went up his spine. "Yeah. That's a, uh, machine that uses two levers to throw crisscrossing blades in four directions. Uh, yeah. Like I said, just an idea."

Astrid flinched again, trying to imagine how in the world that would work. "Then, how do you hold it?"

"Y-you don't. You shoot it."

"Oh." Astrid set the paper down, losing interest. The concept of _aiming_ and _shooting_ something wasn't a dearly held ideal by Viking kind. "Well, you know me. I'm more of a take-it-down-and-lop-its-head-off-with-an-axe kind of girl. You know, the Viking way."

"Yeah," Hiccup muttered.

"Look, Hiccup. You think your dad is disappointed in you, maybe it has something to do with all of… _this."_ Astrid motioned to the rest of the room. For the first time, she spotted a machine in the corner of the room, a cylindrical body mounted on large wooden wheels with what appeared to be levers behind it, probably for holding and moving the thing. It was fairly large and cluttered up the room even more than the loose papers littering the floor.

"You just gestured to the whole room," Hiccup groaned.

"Well…" Astrid said, trailing off for a moment, "Yeah. Look, there's your dad's way—the Viking way—and then there's your way. And your way riles him up, because it's different. Because _you're_ different."

"Thank you for summing that up."

Astrid rolled her eyes, "_My_ _point is,_ if you want to impress your dad, maybe you should try the Viking Way for a change; stop all of…_this."_

"You gestured to the whole room again," Hiccup grumbled, "And you know that I don't know how to do any of that 'Viking way' stuff. I'm scrawny, and I don't know the first thing about fighting. My dad won't even train me."

Astrid lit up when Hiccup said that, a metaphorical torch going off in her head as she came to an idea, "You know what? I know how we can fix that. _You _can train with _me."_

"…Come again?"

"You can train with me!" Astrid beamed this time, all the possibilities seemingly coming together all at once in her eyes. "I'll teach you to swing an axe, or lift a hammer, or wield a sword, and we'll get you all set up to join dragon training. If your dad won't train you, then I will. What do you say?"

Hiccup's stomach churned and he looked between Astrid and his room full of contraptions.

Screw it, what did he have to lose? "Well… yes. Okay, I'll do it." Astrid surged forward and hugged him.

_Hugged him._

He stood there, frozen, for a few agonizing seconds. Astrid's arms were curled around him, holding him there. What should he do? Should he reciprocate? Wrap his arms around her too? Would that make her mad? Some of his blood started to trickle down south and his discomfort increased tenfold.

Astrid seemed to realize what she was doing, and without warning she pulled away. She coughed twice into her hand, avoiding eye contact, "Okay, great, so—"

"Yeah, thanks," Hiccup agreed, awkwardly, "Um…"

"Let's get my axe finished," Astrid suggested.

"Yes. Perfect. Let's do that." Hiccup stumbled back to the grindstone and started it back up, quickly completing the sharpening in silence. Astrid wrung her hands repeatedly as Hiccup worked, brutally silent. To pass the time, she squatted down and gathered up the metal she'd thrown all over the smithy, placing each piece back in the unfortunate basket she'd yanked from the shelf.

Once his masterpiece was completed, Hiccup turned away from the work bench to Astrid. "One razor-sharp axe for a Miss Hofferson," Hiccup said with a smile. He carefully handed the weapon over to her, only letting go once all ten of her fingers were wrapped around the handle. Astrid twirled the shaft in her fingers, scrutinizing every detail she could find.

"It feels different."

"I took the liberty of rebalancing it in addition to sharpening it. You know, full-service establishment and all…" Hiccup said, "I-I don't always do that, though, I know how much you like that axe. I-If you want to hit me, just go ahead and get it over with."

Astrid stared at him, cracking a smile after a few seconds of making him uncomfortable. She slugged him on the arm, gently this time. "Idiot. You improved it. Thank you."

Hiccup smiled. "Always happy to help."

"So, when should we start training?" Astrid asked.

"How about tomorrow morning?" Hiccup suggested with a shrug, "I have some more orders to finish, and Gobber will get mad if I don't get to work on those. I've already run over my break a bit here."

"Tomorrow," Astrid repeated, nodding in agreement. She walked to the window of the forge, turning back to look at him before vaulting over the wall, "See you later, Hiccup."

Hiccup watched her go, daydreaming until he lost sight of her in the village. Groaning, he tugged the curtain to his little room shut and hefted a sword with a horribly mangled blade, scowling as he tried to imagine just how the weapon's owner had managed to damage it so viciously.


	3. New Student

**_3\. New Student_**

Hiccup remained as quiet as possible as he descended the steps to the ground floor the next morning. He really didn't feel like explaining to his dad why he was heading out of the house at the crack of dawn. Sure, Stoick would probably love the truth, but Hiccup didn't feel like fielding questions when it came to Astrid. Stoick's few positive comments leveled in Hiccup's direction were usually centered around her nowadays, about their apparent friendship that was surely a budding romance.

If only.

Hiccup slipped out the door, careful to be sure that he didn't make a sound, and started down the hill. His eyes snapped upward to see Astrid jogging up towards him, all manner of weapons attached to her belt. She smiled in the early morning darkness, pushing her bangs out of her face and tucking them behind her ear.

"Oh, good, you're up. I was worried I'd have to come get you."

"Who, me?" Sarcasm dripped off his tongue, "You thought all of this… _raw Vikingness_ could resist some early morning training?"

"Never doubted it for a second," Astrid snickered. Hiccup smiled, pleased that he'd made her laugh.

"Y-you want me to carry some of that?" Hiccup asked. Astrid nodded and handed him a shortsword, a collection of daggers, and a spear. All in all, a real handful. The spear leaned against his shoulder, and the daggers cluttered his two hands, making it more difficult to carry the shortsword.

"I brought as many weapons as I could… I figured the hammer would be a little too much," Astrid said, seemingly unconcerned by his struggle. "So, shall we go?"

Hiccup put on his best _don't worry about me_ smile. "After you, milady."

They backtracked, crossing the village in search of the distant tree line. The grass grew thicker and thicker as they left the town, sopping wet with summer dew. Astrid led them down her preferred path into the eastern woods, where the tree line was wider while still having plenty of trunks to tear into with her axe. The western woods and the areas around Raven Point were much thicker and more treacherous, featuring more volatile terrain, thicker trees, and bushes lined with brambles. Training in that area was practically asking for an injury, Astrid explained to him, so she stayed clear.

The sun was up by the time they reached their destination, painting the sky a pale blue mixed in with some other red and orange hues. Hiccup could tell that they were in one of Astrid's favored spots as he noticed multiple tree trunks marked with deep cuts and slashes that could only have been made by an axe. Sure enough, Astrid set down her things and turned on Hiccup, flashing a competitive grin.

"Alright. Choose your weapon."

Hiccup gulped, dropping the armfuls of weapons in his grasp, "Wait, er, shouldn't we, like, stretch first, or something? Because, you know…"

"Hiccup," Astrid cut in, saying enough in just one word to get the message across.

"Right. Choosing my weapon…"

Hiccup rummaged through the pile and closed his hand around an axe similar to Astrid's, hefting it off of the ground and nearly falling backwards as he struggled with the weight before planting his feet and turning to face her. Astrid stifled a snicker.

"Interesting choice. Let's see what you've got." Astrid darted forward, rearing her axe back and wasting no time attacking him. Hiccup gasped and brought his axe up, deflecting Astrid's attempt. The metal blades clanged against each other and Astrid attacked again, catching her axe underneath the blade of Hiccup's and swiftly disarming him. The axe went flying from Hiccup's grasp into the nearby grass and he groaned before looking up at Astrid, who levied her axe in his direction triumphantly.

"Well, that wasn't ideal."

Astrid half-laughed, flashing a smile, "No, it wasn't. I can already tell that the axe isn't going to be your thing."

She released Hiccup and he grabbed a spear next, figuring that its lighter weight and greater reach would make it easier to defend himself with as well as counter. Astrid quickly proved him wrong, expertly disarming him again.

"This is hardly fair," Hiccup complained upon being relieved of his weapon a second time.

"It won't be until you find a weapon that you're good with," Astrid explained, lowering her axe so that it dangled at her side.

"Astrid, face it, I'm no good with any of these weapons. This was stupid."

"Hiccup, pick another one."

"This is feeling very one-sided…"

"Pick another one!" Astrid snapped. She took a deep breath and cooled down, meeting Hiccup's eyes again with a calmer demeanor, "Sorry. Hiccup, I asked you to come out here so that we could _find_ a weapon for you to fight with, to teach you _how_ to fight. I believe in you, okay?"

Hiccup's breath hitched in his throat. "You do?"

"Yes. Now grab another weapon," Astrid assured him, "You can do this, Hiccup."

Hiccup sighed and looked at the collection of weapons that Astrid had brought. His eyes fell on the shortsword and he reluctantly picked it up, weighing the weapon in his hands. The blade was a perfect size for him, not too long that he could lose control when he was attacked and still long enough to offer him much more reach than any dagger.

Hiccup took the sword confidently and turned to Astrid, nodding to indicate that he was ready. Astrid lunged for him and swung the axe. Hiccup parried, blocking the incoming blade and pushing against it to shove Astrid back. She caught herself after a single step backwards, offering him a smirk before diving back at him. Hiccup parried the next strike and Astrid whirled in the opposite direction, bringing the axe around faster than he could respond. Hiccup scampered back, avoiding the blade's arc. Astrid scowled, dodging backwards as well when Hiccup instinctively swung at her.

"Good eye. You have to make quick decisions in battle. Sometimes the best defense is evasion."

Astrid lunged again and Hiccup parried, following the movements of Astrid's axe to continue his defensive spree.

"You've got to find a way to go on the offensive. Eventually, your defenses will fail. Do whatever it takes to get the upper hand," Astrid instructed. She brought her axe over her head and tried to strike, so Hiccup scrambled sideways and avoided her. Astrid smiled proudly and attacked again, satisfied when Hiccup successfully parried her once more.

"If you can't find a way to change things up, use your defense to disarm your opponent—"

Hiccup jerked his sword underneath Astrid's incoming axe, absorbing her momentum and turning his arms in a circle. Astrid's aim was completely thrown off and the axe fell out of her grip, leaving her unarmed. Hiccup quickly brought his sword upward, leveling it toward Astrid's neck.

He grinned, "Like that?"

Astrid stared at him, an unwelcome warmth spreading to her face. In the moment, he looked so different from the boy she knew, sure of himself and standing tall. She felt a hint of a smile begin to tug at her lips, but it fell away as Hiccup tensed up and blushed, lowering his sword and shuffling a few paces back. "Sorry. I'm sorry."

Astrid scoffed, "Sorry? Hiccup, that was amazing!"

She punched him on the arm, drawing an _'ow!'_ from him. "It was?" he croaked, absently rubbing his arm.

"Yes! I haven't been disarmed in years!" Astrid beamed, "And you say that you're no good."

"It was lucky, really. I just saw what you'd done the last two times and copied that," Hiccup said, "It was a fluke."

"That's not a fluke, Hiccup. Stop putting yourself down like that. That's you _learning,"_ Astrid corrected, "Fighting isn't all about muscle. It takes brains, too." Astrid stooped down to grab her axe, twirling it in her hand before taking another fighting stance, "Now, come on. Let's try it when you attack me."

* * *

When they called training for the day, Hiccup was drenched in sweat. He'd discarded his fur vest some time ago, but his dark green tunic was practically ornamented with sweat stains. The shortsword he'd been using dangled at his side as they walked into the village. Vikings bustled back and forth through the streets, getting an early start on the day.

"You do this every day?" Hiccup asked, positively exhausted.

"A couple times a day," Astrid said, "But I'm usually by myself. It was nice having you there."

"It was?"

Astrid brushed her bangs away from the left side of her face, "I mean, yeah, it gets lonely out there sometimes. And you really started getting the hang of fighting with that sword."

"Do you really think so?" Hiccup asked sheepishly. A small piece of his mind wandered, unconvinced that had been what she'd meant. Had she changed the subject?

"Yes!" Astrid said exasperatedly. She slugged him on the arm as if it would get her point across better, "Stop asking me how you did. You were better than you can imagine. I mean, you disarmed _me_ on your first try with the sword."

"I only got you one other time though," Hiccup pointed out.

"Because I was more careful after that. And because I've been using this axe for years. You've been using that shortsword for a few hours," Astrid said, "Don't worry about it. I guarantee you that Snotlout or the twins would _never_ manage to disarm me, much less do it _twice_. Just imagine what you could do with a sword that was actually balanced."

"Thanks, Astrid," Hiccup said, finally succumbing to a smile. He looked down at the sword at his hip, "I need to give this back to you. I think I'll go to the forge and start drawing up plans for my own sword. Fix the balancing problems and all of that." Hiccup grew nervous, scratching his head and looking at the ground, "Do… do you think you could keep teaching me? I-I don't want to intrude on your routine, but…"

Astrid stifled a laugh, "Of course I can, Hiccup. I'd be happy to. In fact, I'll tell you what: we'll train every morning and work on your fighting, and you stop making all of those crazy inventions."

Hiccup stopped in his tracks. He arched his back a little, tense. "You want me to stop inventing?" he asked, sounding like he was giving away a piece of himself. He practically was

Astrid frowned, looking over her shoulder and realizing that she might have struck a nerve. She'd kept walking when he'd abruptly stopped, so now she was a few paces apart from him. "I… Hiccup, you keep saying that your dad doesn't respect you." The gap between them suddenly seemed much larger. "We talked about it in the forge: your way makes him uncomfortable. Let's just focus on the 'Viking way' for a little while, and see where it takes us, okay?"

Hiccup pondered the offer. He would be swearing off inventing, the one thing that he really enjoyed doing, but in exchange he'd train with Astrid. Which meant he'd be spending _more time_ with Astrid. The thought gave him butterflies. He glanced at her, examining her perfect blonde locks, her alluring blue eyes, and his chest tightened.

He loved her with everything he was. She was worth it. And maybe she could actually improve him, make him a better Viking. How bad could it be?

"Okay. You teach me to fight, and I'll stop inventing."

"Promise?" Astrid asked.

"Promise." Hiccup handed her the sword, which she carefully attached to her belt, her waist practically armored by weapons.

Astrid nodded. "I'll come by the forge later, if you want."

"Of course," Hiccup answered, smiling.

Astrid punched him lightly on the arm, an identical smile pulling at her lips, "Great work today," she said, and then she was off, racing beautifully through the village. He sighed and watched her go, wishing that she'd come back and erase the cold feeling her departure had left behind.

* * *

The raid alarm woke Astrid from her sleep instantly. She shot up and rolled off the bed, fingers latching around her axe leaning against her bedside table before she'd even begun rising to the ground. They'd been expecting a raid tonight, so Astrid had brought her weapon to her room rather than hanging it on the hooks by the front door where she normally left it. She hustled across the room, swiftly throwing on her shoulder plates and retrieving her armored skirt. Once she was dressed, she thundered out of her bedroom, practically galloping downstairs.

"Astrid," her father greeted. Ingvar Hofferson was retrieving his axe from the wall, a huge and heavy weapon that he'd carried for more than twenty years. The man had refused to replace it, having slain so many dragons with the weapon that he insisted on carrying it into every battle up until his last one.

"Hey, Dad. Are we ready?" Astrid asked, stepping into her boots and tugging on the laces to tighten them.

"_I'm_ ready. You need to find the other teens and start filling the buckets. You know that the summer raids are usually bad," Ingvar said.

"Dad, please, I'm ready to fight," Astrid complained. She knew it was hopeless. He'd never let her out there, not until she'd completed Dragon Training. But she figured it was worth a shot to beg for the chance to actually fight the flying devils outside their door every time they came. Not asking only guaranteed that she wouldn't get the chance.

"No, Astrid. I know that you're capable, but your place is with the fire crew," Ingvar said. He turned to the front door and swung it open, releasing a hungry battle cry and charging into the fray. Astrid huffed and raced outside the house after him, only to alter her course in the direction of the Great Hall.

"Astrid!" Ruffnut called, flagging her down. The female Thorston twin appeared at her side and ran in stride with her, matching her step for step up the stairs to the Great Hall. The huge wooden doors were opened up and a stack of buckets were brought out by—humorously—Bucket.

"Oi, hello, girls. Nice night tonight, isn't it?" Bucket slurred.

"Sure, Bucket," Astrid answered, "Get inside, we'll handle this."

"Yup, yup," Bucket said happily, setting down the buckets and walking back towards the building, "Stay safe out there! I'm off the milk the chickens!"

Astrid grabbed her bucket, stepping aside and letting Ruffnut do the same. Snotlout and Tuffnut came running up next, followed by Fishlegs.

"Morning, babe. Looking great on just a couple hours' sleep," said Snotlout.

Astrid didn't dignify him with a response, racing down the steps with her empty bucket to the nearest trough and filling it with water. Right on time, an unseen dragon struck the side of a house with a batch of liquid flames, setting the wood alight. Astrid sprinted over, dousing the blaze with water before it could grow out of control. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Astrid looked up at the night sky. Huge braziers climbed into the air, illuminating the speedy forms of several different dragons. Astrid saw Gronckles, Nadders, Zipplebacks, the usual regiments of fire-breathing monsters.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut squabbled over a bucket by a nearby burning house, allowing the blaze to fester and grow. Swearing, Astrid ran over, burying her bucket in a trough of water and slinging it once she reached the house, coating the blaze and weakening it enough that Fishlegs was able to swoop in and finish the job.

"You two! Focus, we have a job to do!" Astrid snapped at the twins, "Come on!"

The other teens followed her lead, dousing flames left and right. They passed the forge at one point and Astrid spotted Hiccup hard at work, following Gobber's quick orders and doing his best to speedily service weapons as Vikings brought them in, their meaty heads on a never-ending swivel. She wondered if he'd finished his sword yet. When she'd visited the forge earlier that afternoon, he'd been putting the finishing touches on his plans and measurements.

Astrid continued to take charge, saving house after house from a fiery fate. They were lucky tonight; the dragons weren't breathing as much fire down on the village as they were just trying to steal food and steer clear of Vikings. It made their job easier.

That only lasted for a few minutes. A Monstrous Nightmare swooped in, doused with flames, and delivered a blast of fire down upon a house. The wooden structure caught the flames instantly and began to burn brightly, serving as a beacon to the fire crew.

"Hurry!" Astrid ordered. She threw a bucket-full of water on the blaze, quickly followed by Snotlout and the twins. Fishlegs lumbered over last, dumping his water on the flames. It only worked for a second; the flames caught a gust of air and grew, lapping away at the dry wooden walls. The crew sprinted back to the nearest trough, dumping bucket after bucket of water until the burning house finally gave in, extinguishing the infectious flames trying to burn it to a crisp. The wood was blackened in several places and littered with holes, necessitating a decent number of repairs. But the house was still standing, offering a viable home to its owners, and that was what counted.

Astrid looked to the sky again. She had yet to hear the distinctive sound of a Night Fury closing in on the village. The blasted beast never showed itself to the Vikings, attacking only from above and never missing when it did. But it also wasn't at every raid. If the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself was absent tonight, well, that would only add to their unbelievable luck.

"Split up, search the village for more fires," Astrid barked, dispatching the other teens. She grabbed her bucket, hefting it up to carve another path through town before she heard the telltale squawk of a Deadly Nadder. Astrid's head snapped up and she caught sight of a Viking charging alone at the beast on a nearby hill, hammer raised high above his head.

The Nadder squawked again and crouched, bringing its wings up in defense. The Viking threw his hammer, hoping to crush the dragon's bones with the weapon, but the Nadder expertly countered the attempt by ducking its head, using the spikes on its head to knock the weapon away as if it were a mere toy.

The Viking warrior paled as the Nadder swiped its tail, sending a pair of spines into the man's leg and hopping across the ground to knock the man to the ground with a blunt swing of its tail.

Astrid broke into a run, dropping her bucket on the ground and snatching her axe from its place on her back. She vaulted up and over the small wall bordering the grassy hill, charging up the incline. She got a good look at the dragon as she approached, eyeing its pristine blue scales and its crown of sharp spines armoring the back of its head. If the Nadder wasn't currently trying to kill one of her people, it might actually be beautiful.

"_YAAAAAAAAAAH!"_ Astrid roared, leaping and throwing the axe with practiced aim. The Nadder's head swiveled in her direction, a confused squawk coming from its throat just before the axe buried itself underneath the dragon's right wing where it merged with the body. The Nadder shrieked, recoiling and stumbling into the ground as the axe came loose and blood seeped from the wound.

Astrid didn't have time to yell with pride before she was beaten to the punch.

"Excellent throw, Astrid!" Stoick the Vast bellowed, thundering across the hill with a company of Vikings. The Chief threw himself atop the Nadder, pinning it down before it could escape and grabbing one end of a large, weighted net that the men had brought with them. Like clockwork, Stoick and the others trapped the Nadder under the net, ignoring the beast's pitiful squawking.

The raid seemed to end after that. A few dragons dragged slain food with them, but Astrid was sure it was decidedly less than she was used to seeing. She stayed on the hill, keeping her distance and unintentionally listening in as the chief delivered orders to the reassembling Vikings.

"Keep watch until we're sure they're gone. See that the devil is treated and locked away. She'll go to the ring. And take Yaksbreath to Gothi to have those spines removed," Stoick dished out orders, "Mulch, what are the losses?"

"Four sheep, handful of chickens, Chief."

The Chief raised an eyebrow, surprised. "We were lucky tonight."

"We warded them off before they could find the storehouse with most of them. It seems they've headed off with what little they managed to grab."

"Good work. See to the livestock, please," Stoick said. He looked around, settling his eyes on Astrid, "Hofferson, report on the fires?"

"It was a good one, Chief. Only a few fires, and they were easy to put out. One house nearby suffered some damage and will need major repairs," Astrid reported.

"Good. We'll get to that right away," Stoick said. He barked orders to a handful of other Vikings and the activity died down. Astrid remained standing on the hill, eyes fixed on the Nadder as men sedated it and dragged it away. Part of her was disappointed. She would have liked to finish the Nadder off, to be the first of her generation to net a kill, and before ever entering Dragon Training, no less.

"Don't get yourself down, lass," Stoick counseled, lumbering over to her, "We need a Nadder for Dragon Training. Under normal circumstances, I'd have let you finish the job."

"Thank you, Chief. I'm happy to have helped," Astrid said, smiling as honestly as she could.

"You don't need to hide your disappointment from me," Stoick said, "That was a beautiful axe throw. I'm quite excited to see what you're capable of in the ring. I think you'll make a spectacular warrior someday."

Astrid truly beamed at this. "Do you really think so, Chief?"

"Of course. You come from a long line of respected warriors," Stoick replied, "My advice? Take pride in what you did tonight. It's only the beginning, and it only gets better."

The pit-pattering of some light feet coming up the hill caught Astrid's attention. Hiccup scrambled up the incline, breathing hard as he slowed. "Astrid?" he heaved. He must've seen her from down below and come to check. Since he was confined to the forge during raids, he always came to Astrid to ask about how things had gone on her end. It was almost never a question with interesting answers, but he always kept coming back to hear them. She appreciated the consistency.

"Ah, son!" Stoick bellowed, "You will be proud. Your promised brought down a Nadder!"

Hiccup's eyes flicked over to Astrid with surprise, and she flinched at the use of the word _promised._ A smile tugged at Hiccup's lips and Stoick marched off, heading to handle duties around the village. There was an air of optimism, and one Viking that Astrid couldn't see sent up a joyous cheer.

"You got a Nadder?" Hiccup asked, amazement flickering in his green eyes.

Astrid smiled and nodded, giddy. "Axe throw to the wing. Probably saved Yaksbreath from being killed. I wanted to kill the thing, but your dad said we need a Nadder for training."

"Oh. That sounds disappointing. But you hit a dragon!" Hiccup beamed. He seemed genuinely happy for her. "What did it feel like?"

"It was amazing," Astrid replied with a gleam in her eye, "Like everything my life's been leading up to."

"I'm so proud of you, Astrid," Hiccup said, "I-I know that means nothing, but—"

Astrid surged forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his scrawny back so that she could feel the bones of his spine with her arms. She felt Hiccup's breath hitch in his throat.

"Um, what is this?"

"This is a hug, Hiccup. Thank you. You being proud isn't worthless, it means a lot," Astrid said, still holding him tight.

Hiccup seemed to melt, oh-so-carefully bringing his arms up to reciprocate the hug. His mind was on fire, completely unable to believe that Astrid Hofferson was _here_ and _beautiful_ and _hugging __him._Surely he was dreaming. Would it be weird to ask her to pinch him? She pulled away far too soon, taking a relieved breath and smiling. Her enchanting blue eyes twinkled in the glare of one of the nearby braziers and an indomitable proud smile continued to mask her face.

"Astrid!" Ruffnut called. Astrid looked over Hiccup's shoulder to see the blonde twin beat the others up the small hill. Ruffnut shouldered past Hiccup, ignoring his presence as she forcibly snatched all of Astrid's attention, "Is it true that you hit a Nadder?"

"Yep. It's going to the kill ring now. They're going to use it for Dragon Training."

"Awesome! I'm going to be next," Ruffnut promised.

"To get a dragon? Please!" Tuffnut interjected, "Everyone knows it'll be me." Ruffnut turned a nasty eye on her twin and they started to bicker.

"Great job, babe. I coulda done it better, but, y'know, right place at the right time," Snotlout said, failing miserably at self-awareness. Again, Astrid paid him no heed. Hiccup was right about the whole 'ignoring Snotlout' thing.

"A Nadder's armor rating is 16, so it's not easy to find a vulnerable spot to injure it." Fishlegs determined, "Excellent work, Astrid." The other teens offered Fishlegs a blank stare, silencing the walking encyclopedia and filling the air with an awkward silence.

"Okay, moving on," Ruffnut finally said, "Come on, girl, we've got to go celebrate your first dragon takedown!"

"Yeah! To the Great Hall!" Snotlout declared.

The teens started to leave with Astrid in tow, Ruffnut's hand clasped around her forearm. The shieldmaiden glanced at Hiccup, who was standing still and unnoticed, excluded as he always was. It didn't need to be said that he wasn't invited to the celebration.

"Actually, I think I'm going to pass," Astrid decided. She pulled her arm out of Ruffnut's grasp.

The teens stopped. Ruffnut cocked her head at her, disbelieving. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. I need to turn in. I'm exhausted," Astrid said, "It is the middle of the night, after all."

The other teens exchanged disappointed glances and shrugged in unison, muttering as they headed down the hill. Now that they weren't celebrating Astrid's accomplishment, they would probably be conscripted to help repair any damage the village had sustained. If they were lucky, they might be able to get away and hit the hay until sunrise.

"Come on," Astrid said, turning and grinning at Hiccup.

"I'm sorry?"

"I said come on. Let's go to the forge, just you and me. I don't want to celebrate with them," Astrid said.

"You'd rather celebrate by spending time with me?" Astrid nodded. "Who are you, and what have you done with Astrid Hofferson?" Hiccup joked.

Astrid chuckled and slugged him on the arm, "I'm your friend, dummy. Now let's go."

* * *

The hangout at the forge was short, but sweet. Hiccup lit a candle inside when they arrived, fumbling around until he found the shortsword he'd been working on. He hadn't had the time to completely finish it earlier, but the hard work had been finished.

"It's nice," Astrid commented, examining the blade. She carried a small cup full of mead in her hand. Hiccup knew where Gobber kept a small stash of it in the forge, so they'd poured out a simple serving of the alcohol into two cups and toasted to her. They both figured that one drink was enough; if they had any more Gobber would definitely find out, and he wouldn't be pleased that Hiccup was swiping from his secret store.

"Thanks. I want to do some engravings, but I think that will have to wait. I just need to touch up the blade and it'll be ready to use," Hiccup said. He made short work of the task, sharpening the sword with practiced proficiency. Once it was done, he lifted the blade in a mock stance.

"It looks great. I can already tell that you're way more balanced," Astrid commented. She offered him a small smile over the lip of her cup. She _was _proud of him, really proud, even.

Sounds of activity filtered into the open-air forge. Vikings were trickling back into the village, likely headed home after some initial repairs. The bulk of the clean-up would be done first thing in the morning once there was daylight to work with. That also meant that it was time for Hiccup and Astrid to go.

"So, training tomorrow morning?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup nodded. "Wouldn't miss it."

"Good," Astrid answered. She headed for the exit, realizing based on the lack of footsteps behind her that Hiccup wasn't following her. Astrid stopped and looked back, "You coming?"

Hiccup stammered, "Oh, not yet, I need to put a few things away that I left out in the afternoon. But I'll see you at dawn."

Astrid nodded in understanding and walked back to Hiccup, ensnaring him in a hug. Hiccup beamed and reciprocated, holding her as non-awkwardly as he possibly could.

"I could get used to this," Hiccup commented.

"Don't," Astrid warned, pulling away and punching him lightly on the arm. "Thanks for hanging out with me. I had more fun than I would've at the Great Hall with the others."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You're different from them. It's a good different," Astrid said. She held his gaze for a few brief moments, looking into those deep, intelligent eyes of his, and then, far too soon, she turned away, "Night, Hiccup."

She jogged out of the forge, disappearing into the night as she headed for home. Hiccup's smile remained locked on his face, a giddy snicker slipping from him as he turned and headed to his room in the forge. Maybe it was possible. It was slim, but maybe it was possible that she could love him like he loved her. She'd never done anything more than punch his arm before, but now she'd hugged him twice in one night.

And he really was proud of her. She worked tirelessly to improve every facet of her combat skills, but she'd still never been allowed to fight off the very dragons that she trained herself for. Before she could do that, she'd have to finish Dragon Training first. And he knew that each passing day only strengthened her itch to get started, not to mention her actions tonight. Winter couldn't come fast enough.

Hiccup pulled the curtain aside, stepping into his messy room. He stepped on a piece of paper that had fallen to the ground, hearing the crunch of it under his boot. He stooped down, taking the paper and reading it.

It was the plans for the Mutilator, the ones that Astrid had found when she'd investigated his room the other day. He snorted and crumbled up the parchment, rounding it into a ball and tossing it out of sight. His eyes fell on the large contraption in the corner, a device he'd dubbed the Mangler_._ He'd built it to be a bola cannon that would sling the weighted ropes and ensnare airborne dragons for him. Most Vikings could simply throw a bola with one hand, but not him. Ideally, it would make capturing dragons so much easier.

He placed a hand on the unfinished machine. When he'd last worked on it, it needed some major calibration fixes. He'd come to understand that when the machine had prematurely fired and nearly took out one of Gobber's walls. That had been a fun conversation.

_This right here is what I'm talkin' about, Hiccup!_

_It's just a mild calibration issue, I'll take another look at it, and—_

_Ye took out my wall!_

Hiccup chuckled to himself and turned his thoughts back to Astrid.

_We'll train every morning and work on your fighting, and you'll stop making all those crazy inventions._

The notion had been appalling at first. Inventing and building and _creating_ was everything Hiccup was; the only thing that he could do right. More often than not it caused his father and the rest of the village some major headaches, but surely if he just kept trying, he'd get it right. He'd succeed, and everyone would shower him with the praise that he'd so desperately sought since the other kids started outgrowing him.

But that wasn't going to happen, Hiccup finally thought. If he was going to succeed by now, he would've.

_Promise?_

Her words rang in his ears. He hated the 'Viking way', but there'd been real progress today, and now that he was going to have a balanced sword, who knew what tomorrow's training had in store for him. Maybe he'd beat Astrid in sparring a few times and get that same rush of satisfaction that he'd felt when he ripped Astrid's axe from her hands with a swift curl of his weapon. Maybe he'd make her smile, too. Her smile was something to behold, inducing butterflies in his stomach every time he laid eyes on her pearly white teeth behind her smiling thin lips and that happy expression in her eyes.

She could make something out of him where his father had miserably failed. She could be proud of him, and in turn make Hiccup proud and confident in himself. Thor knew that he could use a little gratification.

The decision was easy.

Hiccup closed his bony fingers around the white cloth and threw it over the Mangler, hiding the machine from the world underneath a sheet of fabric and his new, optimistic outlook.


	4. Eye of the Dragon

**(6/15/2020): Edited this chapter for details. It's still pretty short, definitely the shortest of the fic, but I still really like the scene.**

* * *

**_4\. Eye of the Dragon_**

Astrid's axe flew up in defense, the attacking shortsword clanging against it with a screech of metal. She swiftly brought the axe downward to parry the next strike and went to work, dishing out her own flurry of attacks before she finally caught the edge of her blade around the sword and ripped it from her opponent's grasp.

The shortsword flew into the grass a few feet away, silently dragging to a stop as Astrid pointed her axe at the blade's owner, holding the cold steel mere inches from the boy's neck.

"Nice work. But I win again, Hiccup," Astrid said.

The boy flashed a smile, "It would seem that you have, milady. Please, spare me."

Astrid couldn't help the smile. She'd given up on hating how he made her smile, deciding that it was a good thing. The feeling of smiling, she found, was good. Astrid lowered her axe, playfully shoving Hiccup's chest.

"Knucklehead."

Hiccup resorted to a light chuckle and walked back to retrieve his lost sword, lifting the weapon and holding it gingerly in his hand. He padded over to a large rock jutting out of the ground and sat, taking a deep, exhausted breath. Astrid gathered her few possessions and walked over, motioning lazily at him.

"Ready to go?" she asked. Hiccup nodded and climbed off of the rock, falling into stride beside her. They hiked out of the woods, eventually reaching the hilly clearing that was the village of Berk. The last vestiges of summer had been chased out, and autumn was nearly in full swing. Two weeks had passed since their first day of training together in the woods, and Hiccup had stuck with the regimen dutifully, meeting Astrid outside every morning by sunrise and heading to the woods to practice.

He'd improved exponentially with the sword. He still had a very long way to go, and Astrid still bested him in the majority of their sparring matches, but by now he was already a far better fighter than he'd ever imagined himself being. And he owed it all to her, the beautiful, amazing, terrifying young shieldmaiden that he was so hopelessly in love with.

And that he was engaged to.

The giddy feeling of those hugs she'd given him had lasted for far longer than they'd had any right to. Perhaps that had been for the best, because she hadn't crossed that threshold again since, returning to her usual sometimes-violent self. Once again, the only physical contact he got was punches on the arm or the occasional supportive hand on the shoulder.

It was back to the status quo, and Hiccup hated it. Why did girls have to be so confusing? The worst part was that she probably had no idea what she was doing to him.

Astrid sighed, a frown on her face as she examined the village while they walked down the street cutting through town. Many homes had been grievously damaged in the previous raid two nights ago, and a few had even burned to the ground. The damage was still being repaired two mornings after the fact.

"Whenever we have a good raid, there's always a really, _really_ bad one somewhere down the road," Astrid muttered.

"Yeah, the other night was pretty bad," Hiccup mused, for lack of a better word. Frankly, it had been horrific. For the first time in a while, there'd even been a death in the carnage. Grimdon, the village's butcher, had had his house set on fire by a Zippleback, and his wife had perished in the blaze. Astrid and the fire crew had tried their best to stop the blaze, but it had been exceptionally bad. Grimdon had stubbornly tried to charge his way into the house and gotten seriously burned in the process, earning himself an extended stay at Gothi's. The man still hadn't woken, and the old woman was treating him constantly. It was even worse for their two children, who had one parent in a coma and the other sleeping soundly at the bottom of the sea.

"That's one way to put it…" Astrid mumbled.

"Hey. It's not your fault," Hiccup said, stopping them both and turning to her. His green eyes pulsed with concern. Astrid met his gaze for a moment and then looked down, brushing her fingers through her bangs and pushing them out of her eyes. The tip of her finger grazed the shell of her ear, tucking a lock of hair away.

"But it is. If I had been faster, i-if I had been more efficient or been better at leading the fire crew…"

"Astrid," Hiccup said. He took a risk and placed his hands on her shoulders, getting her to look up at him. Under normal circumstances, anyone who put their hands on Astrid's shoulders would likely receive a broken wrist approximately two seconds later. Surprisingly (and fortunately), she made no such move. Maiming the chief's son would not be a good look. "It is not your fault that Grimdon's wife died or that his house burned down. You tried your best, you did everything that was asked of you, and it didn't work out. And that's okay. Sometimes things don't go the way we'd like them to, and we just have to move on."

Astrid remained still for a few moments, allowing Hiccup's hands to remain rested on her shoulders before she looked up. Her tormented face had softened, projecting a sort of reluctant acceptance. "Thanks, Hiccup. I'm sorry for getting down like that."

"Don't apologize for that, either. It's only human of you," Hiccup answered with a smile. He pulled his hands away from her, dropping them to his side again.

"Can we go somewhere, before we split up for the day?" Astrid asked.

"Of course," Hiccup agreed, almost too quickly. Astrid didn't dwell on it as she changed their course, turning them away from the village and walking to the southwest. Hiccup scratched his head in confusion as they reached the outskirts of town and kept walking. The arena was the only thing of note past this point. "The Kill Ring?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid didn't answer him, only stopping once she reached the edge of the ring. Heavy chains closed in the entirety of the arena, with a large stone walkway surrounding it so that hundreds of people could get close and watch something transpiring inside. A ramp was on the opposite side of the structure, blocked off by a heavy horizontal door controlled by a lever.

"Let's go inside," Astrid said, a strange curiosity in her demeanor. Hiccup decided it was best not to question her and simply followed. They reached the ramp and Astrid pushed on the lever, opening the gate that closed it off. One more gate was at the end of the short tunnel, barring the actual entrance to the ring. "Help me open it," she requested.

Hiccup closed his hands around a few bars on the right side of the gate while Astrid took the left side. When she squatted down to grab onto some of the lowest openings, he quickly corrected himself, embarrassed that he didn't actually know the best way to lift the gate up. What was it the men said? _Lift with your legs, not your back! _That made much more sense now. Together they tugged, struggling at first before really putting their legs into it and slowly inching the gate up.

Eventually, they got the gate to catch, the hidden mechanism in the wall holding it open in place now. It wasn't nearly all the way up, hanging suspended about three feet off the ground. Astrid flashed a grin, a brief giddy noise escaping her lips as she quickly rolled underneath the gate into the ring. Hiccup followed, stooping down and lowering himself underneath the gate. Astrid turned around as he stood up, grinning at him.

"Not bad, Haddock," Astrid said, offering a complimentary slug to the arm. He flinched and she whirled around, staring in wonder at the arena. She'd never actually been inside, only being able to watch from the outside looking in for so many years. She'd witnessed a handful of victors from previous classes of recruits take their final exam, killing their first dragon in front of the entire village. The most desirable kill had always been a Monstrous Nightmare, but that was not always the case, since Monstrous Nightmares were rarer and rather difficult to trap. The last class's victor had slain a Gronckle as his first dragon, and while it felt less prestigious, the town of Berk celebrated the warrior's ascension just like they would any other.

But she knew that a Monstrous Nightmare was currently in captivity behind one of those doors lining the arena wall. Maybe it was cocky of her, but she had already spent a little time plotting how she would kill the Nightmare in front of the village. Then again, she probably had a right to be cocky. The twins could be decent fighters if they ever stopped battling each other. She wasn't going to bet on that happening. Snotlout was an idiot, even if he was strong, and Fishlegs was a non-threat.

The only true wild card was Hiccup. She'd seen the potential in him during their training, and she would honestly work as hard as she could to maximize that potential by the time Dragon Training began. But when push came to shove, she wouldn't let him beat her. All bets would be off at that point, if only for a few hours in the day.

"Just think, in three more months we'll be here every morning, learning to fight dragons for real," Astrid said, "I won't have to be on the fire crew by the time the raids start back up in the spring. I'll be a warrior."

"I'm excited for you," Hiccup replied with a smile.

Astrid looked over her shoulder at him. The radiant smile on her face faltered, crumbling as she turned all the way around to face him. "Why just me? You'll be out here, too."

"Oh, I don't really know about that…" Hiccup muttered, "Can't have Hiccup the Useless messing things up in dragon training."

"Hiccup, come on," Astrid sneered, "I know your dad's taken notice of your training. You're his son, and you're _not_ useless, okay?"

Hiccup silently agreed, his father probably had noticed that he'd been training with Astrid. There were plenty of people milling about through the village when they headed back from the woods, and nothing happened on Berk without Stoick the Vast hearing about it.

"Okay, Astrid," Hiccup relented.

She was about to call him out for bowing out just to satisfy her when a shrill squawk rang out. Hiccup and Astrid froze, bracing, but the faint echo made it clear that the sound had come from behind one of the metal doors that served as the opening to a dragon cell. The two of them exchanged a glance and shuffled towards the cell, keeping as quiet as possible. A second squawk sounded from behind the door, sharp-sounding and pained.

The cell doors in the Kill Ring were thick and built from heavy, rugged metal. A chain was fastened to a long, heavy log that weighed down the door and kept it locked shut. Eye slots were built into the doors and covered by a moving sheet of metal, so that one could slide the slot open and closed and look inside the room. Surprising as it might be, Berk took decent enough care of their captive dragons. They had to be in good shape for dragon training, but not too good, so they were fed what the village could spare and nothing more.

Hiccup slid the eye slot open, peering in with all the curiosity in the world. There was another squawk, much louder this time thanks to the open slot in the door, and a large figure sprinted to the door, its feet scraping along the stone floors. There was a flash of blue scales and a huge, yellow eye appeared at the slot, bulging as it peered out at Hiccup.

"Ah!" Hiccup gasped, jumping and stumbling backwards. He caught himself and Astrid placed one hand on his back to ensure that he didn't fall, dropping it as soon as he was stable. She had jumped from the sudden movement, too.

The dragon inside squawked curiously again, its throat humming as it focused on its visitor. The eye's jet-black pupil flicked to Hiccup's companion, and immediately the dragon inside cried out and backed away, disappearing into the darkness.

"What in the…?" Hiccup mumbled. He trailed off and threw a puzzled glance at Astrid. She shrugged and gently shook her head, equally as stumped. Together, they stepped towards the open slot in the door, standing side by side so they could both look inside. The sun was bright today, and it allowed them to see inside the cell well enough that they could make out the dragon inside.

Glittering blue scales were the first feature that Hiccup noticed, followed by too-large legs and a crown of spikes that adorned the reptile's head. The beast's mouth moved, showing just a hint of the serrated teeth hidden in its maw, and it made another birdlike squawk, this one mixed with fear.

"It's… it's the Nadder that you hit," Hiccup said, keeping his voice low.

Astrid's interest was very much piqued. She leaned in as close as she could to the open slot, confident that the dragon would not try to attack. Her guess was confirmed when the Nadder responded worriedly to Astrid's leaning, backing up another step. Its stance was cowardly, not at all sturdy and imposing like normal. The dragon crooned weakly, and after a sudden movement it cried out and turned all of its focus to its right wing.

"What's up with its wing?"

"That's where I hit it," Astrid realized. As if hearing her, the Nadder gently lifted its wing, wincing as it did so, and examined the wound hidden underneath it. The gash was dark and half-healed, with a few immature scales in the process of growing back over it. Evidently, the wound was still painful. Without a full stomach and all of her strength, the dragon would be dealing with the wound for some time, though it would be healed in time for training in the winter.

The Nadder looked back at them, crooning again and backing away.

"I think she's afraid of you," Hiccup observed. He briefly wondered about the dragon's initial reaction when he'd opened the slot. He dared to say that it was curiosity. But that wasn't possible, right? Dragons attacked on sight, just like Vikings did. That was its instinct.

"Good. She should be," Astrid snarled. Even Hiccup flinched at her cold response. He'd grown so used to the warmth she showed around him that he'd nearly forgotten how ferocious she could be... how _Vikingly_ she could be. "It's nice to see them feel a little fear when they've caused us so much of it."

The Nadder focused again on her wing and walked as far as it could away from its two visitors—which wasn't very far, considering the cramped cell carved into the stone. Crooning, the dragon sat down, fussing as it tried to find the right position to avoid hurting its wing in the process. With a sigh, it laid its head down on the stone floor, another weak squawk reverberating from its throat.

"She looks sad," Hiccup murmured.

Astrid didn't respond for a moment. "They're not capable of sadness. They're devils. They raid and kill and take and feel no remorse, no regret. They're the reason that we suffer. They're the reason that Grimdon's wife is dead, and everyone else that's died when they raid us."

_Including my mother,_ Hiccup thought. "Yeah… I know…" he finally said, his heart not in it to debate or argue.

"We should go. My parents will be wondering where I am pretty soon," Astrid suggested.

"Right," Hiccup agreed. Astrid turned on her heel and stalked off. Hiccup moved to shut the eye slot and follow, but before he could close it completely, he peered in at the Nadder again. His curiosity was too great. The dragon had seemed interested when it had first seen him, before it had noticed his frightening companion. Could he elicit that response again?

He squinted, his gaze cutting through the dark of the cell. He brushed his eyes over the dragon's blue scales, searching for one of its golden eyes. He found it, going painfully still as he realized that it was watching him again. Boy and dragon held their mirrored gaze for only a few seconds before the Nadder turned its eye away, almost as if it had realized that it had been caught staring. Slowly, and with a heavy heart, Hiccup pulled the slot closed and walked after Astrid. He picked up his pace to make up the ground. She was almost back at the gate.

As they walked back into the village in silence, Hiccup willed himself to ignore what he'd seen.

Dragons were devils.

Right?


	5. Inventions

**_5\. Inventions_**

The horn echoed across the village, alerting all that dragons had been sighted in the distance heading straight for Berk. Hiccup shot awake and crawled out of bed, fumbling around through the dark for his boots and shoving them on his feet. He stood and made for the door, stopping and doubling back to grab his fur vest.

His shortsword caught his eye, dangling from the hook he'd installed on his wall last week. He felt like taking it with him out to the raid, even if he was just going to the forge like usual.

The sound of the front door being thrown open knocked Hiccup out of his stupor. Stoick yelled to everyone who was already outside to ready themselves and thundered down the hill outside their house. Hiccup sighed and left his room, leaving the sword behind and galloping down the steps. As soon as he stepped outside, he spotted a Deadly Nadder swoop down and snatch a sheep from a nearby pen.

Hiccup ran, breaking into a sprint towards the forge. A swarm of Gronckles buzzed overhead and Hiccup thought he saw a burly Viking leap from the roof of a house to attack one. Something that felt like an explosion erupted from behind Hiccup, but he avoided looking back. It would be fine. Probably.

The forge finally appeared up ahead like a beacon of light and Hiccup scrambled inside, passing a hard-at-work Gobber on his way in.

"Mornin', Hiccup! Sleep well?" Gobber joked.

"Me? Oh, yeah, I _love_ it when I sleep for two hours and then wake up to fire raining down from the sky," Hiccup drawled, straining as he hauled a hammer out of the middle of the floor. Someone (probably him) was liable to stub their toe on the thing if nobody moved it.

"'At's good, Hiccup," Gobber looked up at the window to see a familiar face, "Aye, Spitelout, what do ye need?"

"Bola. Quickly," Spitelout said impatiently, looking over his shoulder. Hiccup grabbed the first bola that he could grab from storage, lifting it as much as he could and dragging it. Apparently, though, it wasn't up to Spitelout's standards. "I said quickly, boy!" Spitelout sneered. Hiccup kept his mouth shut and heaved the bola higher over his shoulder so he could pass it along into Spitelout's annoyed hands.

Spitelout grabbed the bola and whirled around, setting his sights on a Zippleback. The gruff man turned his arm and launched the bola perfectly, tangling its ropes around the two-headed dragon. The Zippleback dropped to the ground and Spitelout sprinted towards it with a raised weapon.

"Yeah, you're welcome," Hiccup grumbled.

"Ah, don't let that arse get to ya, lad. Now come on, this sword needs sharpenin'!" Gobber dangled a dull blade in the air and Hiccup grabbed it before hustling to the grindstone and getting to work. The stone wheel screeched against the steel as Hiccup lowered the blade onto it, steadily whittling away its imperfections.

It wasn't long before they heard the scream.

"It's here," Gobber lamented. Transfixed, Hiccup stumbled over to the forge window, eyes fixed on the sky as if he'd actually be able to find the jet-black shape against it.

"_Night Fury!"_ someone shouted.

"_Get down!"_

And then a catapult exploded in a ball of plasma, sending the structure crumbling down in a huge heap of stone and wood. The wind _whooshed_ above the forge as _something_ flew over it at high speed, and after the briefest pause, the chaos of the raid resumed as if nothing had happened. More dragons descended upon the village from the darkness and the Vikings doubled their efforts.

A nearby house caught fire and Astrid's voice caught Hiccup's attention. He pulled his eyes from the grindstone a second time, lowering the half-sharpened sword to his side.

"Ruff, Tuff, pull your heads out of your butts and dump your buckets! Snotlout, Fishlegs, move it!" Astrid barked. The twins came running, surprisingly working side by side and dumping buckets of water on the young blaze. Snotlout and Fishlegs followed, effectively killing the fire before it could get started.

Astrid's smile was infectious as she turned around, privately pumping a fist at the crew's success. She glanced up and caught Hiccup's eyes, and her pace slowed as she held his gaze for a moment. Stupefied, Hiccup smiled at her, a little bug in the back of his brain convincing him that she would scowl and turn away. Instead, she smiled back and waved. Hiccup's smile grew and he waved back.

A Monstrous Nightmare swooped down and breathed fire down on another two houses. Panic flushed across Astrid's face and she whirled around to sprint to the new fire.

"Oy! Quit starin' at the lass and get back ta work!" Gobber whacked Hiccup on the head with his good hand, gently, but hard enough to get his point across.

"Sorry, sorry!" Hiccup apologized and scrambled back over to the grindstone to resume work on the sword. As soon as it was done, another Hooligan came running to the forge and claimed the weapon before charging back into the action as more dragons continued to spill from the sky.

After another half hour of uninterrupted work, an enormous shape powered in through the forge doorway, its footsteps shaking the very smithy. Hiccup glanced up, his eyes catching a full beard of Haddock red curls.

"Hiccup!" Stoick roared, "We need you on the fire crew."

Hiccup's throat went dry and he stammered, not sure that his ears were being truthful. "Um, I, uh… what?"

"I said that the fire crew needs you. They need as many hands as they can get," Stoick repeated, the slightest hint of impatience on his tongue.

"D-Dad, I don't know, y-you've never wanted me out there, a-and Gobber…"

"Go, laddie. I can handle myself here," Gobber insisted, "Take 'im, Chief."

Stoick nodded and gestured for Hiccup to follow, "Come."

Stoick turned and ran back outside, forcing Hiccup to drop everything he had and follow as quickly as he could. Stoick led him over the nearest hill to a blazing house where Astrid and the fire crew were working to douse a raging fire. Stoick pointed at the crew and then ran off to another section of the village with a hearty battle cry. The fire crew was larger than usual tonight, and not just because of the addition of Hiccup. Several kids a few years younger than Hiccup were working as well. One glance to the sky seemed to validate the need for more hands. There were even more dragons than usual this time.

Astrid turned as she heard the footsteps, flinching as she recognized her newest charge. "Hiccup, what are you—never mind, grab a bucket."

Hiccup nodded and obeyed, grabbing a bucket just in time for Snotlout and the twins to see him.

"Ugh, what is he doing here?" Tuffnut complained.

"Yeah, you're not part of the fire crew, Useless," Snotlout snapped.

Hiccup scowled, but it was Astrid who stepped in to answer, "Snotlout, you can piss and moan about Hiccup helping out, or you can focus on your job. What's it gonna be?"

Snotlout scoffed and turned back to the house, dumping a bucket of water on the blaze. Hiccup ran to the nearest trough and filled his bucket with water, dragging it over and doing his part. The house fire was put out and the crew moved on to another house. Astrid barked out orders, diving back and forth to help as well and being as efficient as possible. She was quite admirable in the moment.

"_Fishlegs, pick it up! Gustav, quit joking around! Ruff and Tuff, what did I say about fighting with each other? Use your heads for something other than hitting each other, for Thor's sake!"_

Hiccup followed the crew dutifully, saving another two houses and quietly following any orders Astrid gave him. Best not to draw attention to himself, he figured. That way, he wouldn't mess up and inexplicably burn a house down instead of extinguishing it.

They were working on another house when the night sky screamed the haunting telltale cry of a Night Fury diving in for another attack.

"Get down!" Astrid bellowed, and the fire crew hit the dirt all at once. Hiccup glanced up, finding Astrid next to him.

"Hi," he whispered.

Astrid let a smile slip out as she met his green eyes, "Hi."

A catapult in the distance exploded in another blast of Night Fury fire and Astrid shot to her feet to bark more orders. Hiccup fell in line, doing what was asked of him wherever he was needed.

Eventually, the dragons left, and all attention turned to surveying the village and examining the aftermath.

It was bad. Countless houses had suffered serious damage, even with the extra hands conscripted to the fire crew that night. Two had even burned down completely. Stoick stomped around the village, yelling furious orders to anyone who was near enough to listen.

"Split the crew to salvage wood from the homes we lost," he told Astrid, keeping the irritation in his voice to a minimum as if to take off any blame she might put on herself for the results. She nodded dutifully and turned to the enlarged fire crew as Stoick stormed elsewhere, yelling once again without missing a beat.

"Fishlegs, take Snotlout, Gustav, and Tuff to the Ketilsson house. Salvage any wood that you can for rebuilding. Hiccup, Ruff, Yaklegs, you're with me at Boarface's home. The rest of you, help out where you can." Astrid ordered, "Let's move it."

Fishlegs scrambled off with his charges, mumbling excitedly about being put in a leadership position while Snotlout grumbled about being passed over for the same role. Astrid wasted no time and jumped ahead of her group, leading the trio of Hiccup, Ruffnut, and Yaklegs—Fishlegs' younger brother—to where Boarface's home had formerly stood.

They went straight to work gathering up as much reusable wood as they could… which wasn't much. Most of the planks and boards and logs that had been used to build Boarface's house were ruined from the fires. There were, however, a handful of them that could be salvaged and used to build the foundation for a replacement. It wouldn't build a new hut for the Viking, but it was a start.

Hiccup stooped down to grab onto one such plank, dragging it out from a pile of ruined ones and preparing to pick it up. He struggled mightily to do so.

"Need a hand?" Astrid asked him, making Hiccup jump as she stepped up close to him.

"Ah! Oh, Astrid. Hi, Astrid," Hiccup stammered, barely retaining his grip on the plank after fumbling it around. Astrid let a slight smile appear on her lips and she walked to the other end of the long plank.

"Hi, Hiccup. Let's lift this on three, okay? One… two… three!" Astrid said. Hiccup started to lift the plank as she asked, and with Astrid's added strength it was easy to lift it and drag it away from the smoldering remains of the house.

"Thanks," Hiccup said once they dropped the plank away from the house. He ran his hands over his fur vest, grooming grains of wood out from it. Astrid didn't answer and instead led him back to Boarface's house to continue salvaging.

Together, they dragged a decent number of planks to the salvage heap. After the third or fourth plank, Hiccup bounded back to the heap-slash-former-house. Astrid lagged behind for a moment, and her delay provided just enough of a window for Ruffnut to corner her. "So, what's the deal with you and Hiccup?"

Astrid startled, looking over her shoulder to find the Thorston lass leering at her. Ruff leaned her weight on her left foot, folding her arms across her chest and wearing a disapproving frown. "The deal?" Astrid repeated, a scowl forming on her face, "There's no deal. He's my friend." _What's the deal with _you_? _she almost said.

Ruffnut deadpanned, "Uh, yeah, your friend who you're _engaged_ to."

Astrid rolled her eyes now. "Ruff, please. I hang out with him, train with him, the usual friend stuff."

"I'm your friend and you never train with me. And you barely 'hang out' with any of us anymore. That night a couple of weeks ago, I know that you didn't just go home and go to bed. You were with Hiccup," Ruffnut said, an accusatory bite to her tone.

"And? I don't want to be mean here, but isn't that none of your business?" Astrid snarled.

"Yeesh, defensive," Ruffnut replied with a roll of her eyes, "I'm just making sure that you're not falling for him."

"_Falling for him?"_ Astrid hissed, "Seriously, Ruff? Why do you even care?"

"I don't."

"Yes, you do. And you shouldn't," said Astrid, "You and the others are bothered by the fact that I spend a lot of time around Hiccup."

"Well, gee, I'm sorry. I just don't get how you want to marry _that,"_ Ruffnut growled, pointing past her. Astrid followed her finger and saw Hiccup struggling with another plank of wood that he'd managed to find in the wreckage. Astrid's shoulders sagged a little bit, but she mustered a look of annoyance as she turned back to her friend.

"Get back to work, Ruff," Astrid sneered before turning on her heels to help Hiccup. She heard Ruffnut scoff and stomp off somewhere else, but she resolutely ignored her. She didn't have to explain herself to Ruffnut. She didn't have to explain herself to _anyone, _except maybe her parents. And the Chief, but that one was pretty self-explanatory.

She reached Hiccup by the pile of charred wood, and his voice jarred her from her stewing. "Everything alright?" Hiccup asked her.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Astrid lied.

"You seemed pretty animated at Ruffnut over there," Hiccup said, "N-not that I was spying on you or anything, I-I just noticed some annoyed-looking gestures, and—"

"It's fine, Hiccup. Ruff and I just had a disagreement. Let me help you with this," Astrid insisted, grabbing onto the other plank and lifting it up from one side.

Hiccup lifted his end of the long plank and they walked it away from Boarface's house. Once they had dragged it far enough, they set it down, and Hiccup looked to Astrid. She watched the ruins of Boarface's house from a distance, biting her lip as if she were deep in thought.

"What, uh… what was the disagreement about?" Hiccup asked, a cautious hope in his voice.

Astrid sighed, "I don't really want to talk about it. That's all the wood we can get, I think. I'll run and find Stoick and a few of the others can come grab it later."

"Oh, okay, I…" Hiccup started, but Astrid was already running off. He sighed and headed back to his house. In the distance, light was beginning to peek over the horizon, relegated to a tiny reddish glare.

Hiccup dragged himself over the hill to his house, throwing open the door and trudging to the hearth. He sighed and lit it, producing a warm flame. The fire filled the dreary house with hushed whispers, tongues of flame lapping at the stale air in order to feed. With that finished, Hiccup slumped into a chair. The leather was comfortable, and he was exhausted.

Before he knew what was happening, he was drifting off. The world seemed to fall away, fracturing as his head willed him to rest. He tried to remain awake, to at least wait for his dad to return, but the call was too strong. His thoughts ceased, receding into whispers of ideas, and he dove into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Hiccup."

He vaguely felt the prod of a finger on his arm. It wasn't enough to drag him from the sleep that he was so blissfully enjoying, but he felt it all the same. The sensation went away as quick as it came, leaving him in peace…

"Hiccup."

For all of three seconds. He was prodded again, this time more forcefully, and then a second and third time right after the fact. His body began waking up despite the silent pleading of his brain to just return to being asleep. The perfect evenness of his breathing was ruined, and he allowed his eyes to creep open ever so slightly and spy the offender. Astrid was standing above him, staring at him with a displeased frown that was betrayed by the determination in her gaze. Her fingers jabbed him repeatedly, now with much more force than the previous few times.

"Hiccup. Hiccup. Hiccup. Hiccup. Hiccup."

Hiccup finally groaned, frustration and exhaustion merging to produce his strangled, irritated complaint. _"What,_ Astrid? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" he asked, closing his eyes again in a futile attempt to dive back into unconsciousness.

"Not anymore, you're not. I let you sleep in. We're late for training," Astrid said.

"Astrid, there was a raid last night," Hiccup groaned, still trying to fall back asleep.

"That never stopped us before, and it won't now. So get up," Astrid replied.

Hiccup allowed his eyes to open. There was no way that he was winning this argument, and now that he'd started talking, he was definitely awake. If by some miracle he did manage to drive Astrid away, he wouldn't even be able to go back to sleep now.

"Fine," he conceded and stood up out of the chair, wincing at the ache in his joints. Yeah, sleeping bent over in a chair was not one of his smartest decisions. "I'm up. H-how did you even get in here?"

"I let her in." Hiccup startled, head snapping towards the kitchen where Stoick was preparing breakfast. The enormous man was hunched over the kitchen counter, deftly working with a knife on a piece of food that Hiccup couldn't see from his vantage point.

Oh, _right_. He'd trudged back into the house and passed out on the leather chair.

"Though I'm sure the lass would've found her own way in had I not," Stoick added.

"Good morning to you, too, Dad," Hiccup grumbled.

"Morning, son. Excellent work with the fire crew last night," Stoick said.

Hiccup paused. "E-excuse me?"

"I said, excellent work with the fire crew last night. They needed you last night, and you did well," Stoick said.

"Okay, I think I'm still dreaming. Astrid, do you think you could pinch me? _Ow!"_ Hiccup said, and then yelped. Astrid hadn't wasted any time, pinching him with ridiculous precision on the arm. Astrid stifled a _giggle_ and dropped her hand, proving that Hiccup was in fact not still asleep. "I, um, uh, thanks, Dad. I-I don't really think I deserve any praise, though—"

"Come on, yes you do. It was a bad raid, and without you there, it would've been worse," Stoick insisted. He turned away from the counter, carrying two plates with a small cut of cod and an egg. "Now, eat your breakfast, son. You'll need your energy for training! Astrid, would you like any, lass?"

"Oh, I'm alright, Chief. I ate at my house. But thank you," Astrid said. Hiccup grabbed the plate and scarfed down the food faster than was probably healthy, feeling more and more awkward with every second that he spent in the room together with his betrothed and the man who had arranged it.

"Okay, I'm going to change and grab my sword," Hiccup said before bolting out of the kitchen and up the stairs to leave Astrid and Stoick alone.

"Thank you for taking the time to train with him. I mean it," Stoick said softly, "He's been… _better_… since you started. Stopped building all of his ridiculous machines and focused on what really matters."

Astrid pursed her lips. Her hand trailed up her arm, finding purchase on her elbow. She clenched her fist there to keep herself from fidgeting further. "I may have gotten him to stop in exchange for my help," she said, "Sometimes I'm sure that he misses it, but he seems to be doing okay."

"Better than okay," Stoick corrected, "I… I haven't been the greatest father since we lost his mother. She would've been so much better at all… _this_ than I am."

Astrid wasn't sure how to respond to Stoick's admission. He was being more open now than she'd ever seen him be. Stoick seemed to catch on and murmured his next words with the utmost concern.

"Do you resent me?"

"Chief?" Astrid asked, confused.

"It's okay if you do," Stoick said, "I did what I thought was best for Hiccup at the time. To my eyes it has seemed like the right move. You two spend a lot of time together. But do you resent me for it?"

Oh. He was speaking of her engagement. The one that he'd roped her into without her knowledge or consent almost a year ago. The thing that hung over her head even now, overshadowing her friendship with Hiccup. They'd have to marry each other someday. That was the ultimate fact of the matter.

"You can be honest with me," Stoick said, hoping to instill a bit of confidence in her.

"I… I honestly don't know how I feel. Right now, I'm content with Hiccup's friendship. He brings out the good side of me… makes me laugh, makes me feel valued. And don't get me wrong, I feel valued by this village…" Astrid said, though the back of her mind called her a liar. She was the best warrior of her generation, probably even better than many fighters older than her, and yet she was forced to work on the fire crew rather than fight dragons when the raid alarms went off. Ignoring that corner of her brain, she continued, "But it's different with Hiccup. He makes time for me, even when I don't ask for it or when he really, really doesn't have to. He's different from the other kids our age… in a good way."

Stoick's eyebrows had raised halfway through her admission, and they remained raised now. He opened his mouth to speak, but Astrid cut him off as another thought came to her.

"And you should try to make him feel loved every now and then. I'm pretty sure Hiccup is convinced that you don't care about him," Astrid said with an unintentional scowl. Stoick's breath hitched. Hiccup thought that he didn't love him? Why, the mere idea of that…

It was understandable, actually.

The staircase shook as Hiccup appeared and trotted down the steps, dressed in a fresh forest-green tunic and a new fur vest. His shortsword was sheathed at his hip, held in a leather scabbard that Hiccup had built himself.

"Ready to go?" Hiccup asked with a smile, oblivious to the conversation that had taken place while he was upstairs.

"Yep," Astrid replied and walked briskly to the front door, eager to get out of the stifling house. Hiccup followed, noticing the tension in her step.

"Hiccup," Stoick rumbled, stopping both teenagers before they could head out the door. The chief was watching them, some sort of conflict swirling in his eyes.

"Yeah, Dad?"

Stoick stiffened, "Ah… keep up the great work."

Hiccup's mouth ran dry.

"Oh, um, thanks, Dad. Th-thanks." Hiccup stammered, embarrassed. Astrid opened the door behind him, and he took that as his cue to leave, shuffling out after her and letting the door close with a _thud_ behind them.

Stoick sighed, rubbing his temples with a few brawny fingers. The awkwardness of the exchange weighed heavy on him, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd messed things up a long time ago. Astrid was putting the boy on a path to become a respectable chief in ways that Stoick had never done. He'd never endeavored to teach the boy how to fight, convinced that it was hopeless. He'd stuck him in the forge, hoping that that would keep him out of trouble and out of danger. He wouldn't lose Hiccup the way he'd lost Valka, he _wouldn't._

Stoick poured a mug of ale and trudged to the chair that Hiccup had been sleeping in. He didn't know how the boy had managed anything resembling sleep in it, the thing was old and uncomfortable and tough. Stoick would've moved the boy upstairs to his bed had he shown up at home more than fifteen minutes before Astrid had come calling. He'd been up since the raid horns first went off, back when the morning was still dark, working nonstop with the rest of the village to repair whatever grievous damage that they could. Now, the sun was well up into the sky, just a few hours before noon.

Stoick sipped from his mug of ale and groaned, his mind wandering back to Hiccup. Astrid's revelation that Hiccup thought Stoick didn't care for him had sent him silently reeling. He really, really hoped that that wasn't the case.

Because he loved his son, no matter how difficult of a time he had showing it.

* * *

Hiccup and Astrid happily walked out of the woods, their training completed for the day. The trees parted and left them unprotected from the cold wind, sending an uncomfortable chill down their spines upon being newly exposed.

The ugly scene of the devastated village came next, and Astrid audibly groaned. It had been easy to forget when they were training away from town. The damage weighed heavier on her than it probably needed to; she blamed herself for the destruction of Boarface and Einar Ketilsson's homes.

"The raids are getting worse," Astrid said.

"Yeah… Dad's been pacing around lately. He's worried about winter," Hiccup answered.

"I overheard Mulch saying we lost a lot of sheep last night. I'm sure your dad's worried about feeding the village."

"Well, between you and me, I feel like the village could get by with a little less feeding than normal, don't you think?" Hiccup suggested with a stupid grin.

Astrid allowed a short laugh and punched Hiccup on the arm, "I don't know if you could, you jerk," she teased.

"You wound me, milady. Physically and verbally," Hiccup groaned pitifully, smiling after the fact and laughing with Astrid.

Her good mood was all too brief. "But seriously…" she muttered, the slight grin on her face crumbling into a frown, "We had more hands than usual last night, and we still failed. Luckily, nobody died this time, but still…"

"Astrid. You can't keep going on like this, blaming yourself whenever something goes wrong."

"It's not just me. The cycle never stops. Dragons come raid our village and burn down our homes and hurt our friends and family. We repair the damage, and they come back. There's nothing we can really do to stop it," Astrid lamented, "After we finish dragon training, and I'm no longer on the fire crew, kids that are even younger than we are will be filling our stead. And they're going to screw up, too. Gods, if we could put out a house fire with one hand, I bet no one would die in the raids."

"I know what you mean…" Hiccup said. Astrid was looking at her feet. He moved to place an arm around her shoulder, to try and comfort her and assuage the guilt and the sinking feeling that was so clearly threatening to crush her. But before he could go through with that, Astrid's previous words echoed in his head.

_If we could put out a house fire with one hand._

"What if we could?" Hiccup blurted. Astrid looked up, confused. Hiccup's head was racing as ideas started to take shape, "Astrid, what if we could?"

"What if we could what?" Astrid asked, a tad irritated.

"Put out a house fire with one hand, just like you said," Hiccup sputtered. He started to fidget, the racing of his head spilling over down his fingers. He turned to look at the village, his eyes falling on the forge.

"Hiccup, I was just... rambling on. It's not possible."

"But what if it was?" Hiccup challenged, still not making a lick of sense. Without another word or anything resembling a warning, he turned and bolted down the hill.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted, cursing and picking up the pace to follow him down the hill towards the town. "Slow down!" she complained, but her shout fell on deaf ears.

Hiccup weaved through the damaged village, avoiding anyone who threatened to step into his path. The forge grew larger as he ran closer and closer, finally scrambling underneath the shade of the roof. Frantically, he scoured the workspace for parchment, ripping a good-sized section of it apart just as Astrid came barreling into the smithy.

"Hiccup, what's going on?" Astrid demanded.

"I have an idea," Hiccup boasted. He bent over the parchment, bringing up his empty writing hand. He pulled back, "Oh, crap, I need charcoal. One sec."

Hiccup vanished behind the curtain cordoning off his personal workspace, returning just a few seconds later with a charcoal pen in his hand. He bent back over the parchment as if he'd never stepped away, frantically trying to hold on to the mental sketches in his mind before they could slip away.

When Hiccup was done scribbling faster than anything Astrid had ever seen, he stepped back from the freshly-drawn diagram with an incurable smile glued to his face. Astrid's eyes narrowed as she leaned over the parchment, eyeing the arrangement of wooden beams, ropes, and what appeared to be a trough.

"Hiccup, what is this?" she asked.

"It's a fire prevention system," Hiccup said proudly. He pointed to the crudely drawn mechanisms on the diagram, "First, the trough is filled with water. If the house catches fire, you pull the release rope, which will go here…" Hiccup pointed to a rough scribble, "That rope will unlock the pulley, which allows the trough to turn over and dump the water inside it over the house."

Astrid's visualization of the device in action filled with color, imagining a house like Boarface's drowning in fire only to be saved by the simple pull of a rope. If the machine worked, the days of sprinting back and forth as quickly as possible to extinguish fires with buckets would be over. No one would have to suffer the horrible fate of Grimdon's wife, trapped in a doomed home as it burned to the ground with them inside it.

Just like Hiccup had said, they could put out a house fire with one hand.

Hiccup watched the series of shifting emotions on Astrid's face worriedly, and when she didn't immediately laud the idea, his shoulders sank and he looked down at his feet. That stupid little bug in the back of his brain bit him again and he mumbled, "I'm sorry, this was stupid. I promised you that I wouldn't invent anymore, and here I am…"

Astrid's eyes went wide, "No, it's not stupid, you idiot!" She punched him on the arm again for good measure, knocking him back a step. "I'm just processing it, but this… this is genius! Just think of what this could do for the village!"

Astrid started to ramble, and Hiccup almost laughed at how much he thought she resembled him in the moment. Astrid almost never rambled, always sure of herself and everything else, and it was legitimately _adorable_ to watch.

Hiccup silently shook himself out of his stupor and replied, "So, you're not mad? That… that I want to build again?"

Astrid whirled on him, half scowling and half gushing, "Hiccup, I don't care about that! Just look at these plans. This isn't anything like the other stuff you've tried to make. It's not some obscure, complicated dragon fighting machine that only you would understand how to use. This will _help_ the village."

"You really think so?" Hiccup asked, a glimmer of unfamiliar hope stirring up in his gut.

Astrid nodded, "I know so. And I'll help you with whatever you need. We can even get Gobber to review the plans and help, too. A-and we can install it over my house for a trial run, oh, there's so much that we can do with this!"

"If it works, of course. That's the important part," Hiccup muttered.

"It _will_ work. I believe in you, Hiccup," Astrid insisted. There she went, making him blush again.

"Thanks, Astrid," Hiccup smiled through the blush, his heart leaping in his chest as he looked into her eyes.

And then she punched him. "That's for thinking this was a stupid idea." Hiccup rolled his eyes, rubbing his arm as he usually did when she hit him. Then, out of nowhere, she jumped into him and wrapped her arms around him in a loose but honest hug. "And this is for everything else."

Well, there was that next hug he'd been dying for.

She pulled away far too soon, brushing her bangs away from her eye and smiling at him, "C'mon, let's go find Gobber."


	6. Useful

**_6\. Useful_**

Astrid crawled up onto the roof, stretching her back as she stood on the slanted tile. Hiccup was hard at work building the prototype. Gobber had approved of Hiccup's plan and helped them procure the necessary materials, but he was unable to help with the actual construction since he had to man the forge. Hiccup had been perfectly fine with that; he was more than capable of making the prototype himself.

"How's it coming?" Astrid asked, her hands on her hips as she worked out another kink in her muscles, "Sorry I took so long."

"Don't worry about it. It's slow going," Hiccup answered. He hammered another nail into place. "Did you thank your parents for letting us set this up on their house? I know it's probably a nuisance for your mom, listening to me work and all."

Astrid shook her head, "She's fine, she's happy to know that you're hard at work. I told her what this thing was supposed to do, and she got excited."

"Excited?" Hiccup repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah. She's always liked you," Astrid said.

"She has?" Hiccup asked, still disbelieving. He let his eyes drift off to the side, staring off into space. "I... I didn't realize."

"She was close with your mom. And she apparently saw your good qualities long before anyone else did. Long before me, anyway," Astrid said. She squatted down beside Hiccup, examining the structure. "Need any help with anything?"

"You can hold this nail, if you want. I need to hammer it into the beam so that the base will stay attached. I know it's like a huge waste of your time and everything, but—"

Astrid took the nail and answered, "It's fine, Hiccup. You're the builder. I'm just happy to help."

"Well, I'm happy that you're helping, then," Hiccup answered. Astrid placed the nail where he pointed, and after a moment's notice he hammered it in place. "Perfect," he said. Astrid smiled and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"_Um… hey, Astrid? Hiccup?"_

Astrid and Hiccup exchanged a glance as they heard the new voice and crawled as far as they were able to so that they looked over the edge of the roof. Standing in the grass in front of the house was Fishlegs, wringing his hands nervously and glancing every which way as if he were some sort of conspirator.

"Fishlegs?" Astrid asked, "Everything okay?"

The husky boy rambled in answer, "Oh, uh, well, I was taking a walk through the village and I saw you both working on the roof. I estimated there was a high chance that Hiccup was building something, and past history shows that little good has ever come from that…"

"Feeling the love, 'Legs," Hiccup said through gritted teeth.

Fishlegs half-jumped, "Sorry, sorry! I just… my interest was piqued, you know? W-what exactly is that?" he asked, gesturing the base of the frame standing atop the Hoffersons' roof.

"It's a prototype for a fire prevention system," Hiccup explained, "It will be, anyway."

Fishlegs' eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, "Oh… really? H-how would that even work?"

"Easy. Would you like to help?" Hiccup asked. Astrid swiveled her head at him, surprised, and he met her eyes with a hopeful smile. It was a good idea to ask Fishlegs for a hand. Between the two of them, it would take all day to finish the project.

Fishlegs seemed torn. "Well, I… I don't know how much help I'd really be. Construction's never been my strong suit, I mean I'm decent at it, but there's a high probability that I'd just get in the way."

"Nonsense. We need help getting everything up here, anyway! See the stack of struts by the ladder?" Hiccup asked.

Fishlegs nodded, understanding immediately and shuffling over to the pile of wood. He hefted one beam over his shoulder, showing off his impressive hidden strength, and approached the ladder. Astrid descended a few steps and grabbed the other end of the beam to lift it the rest of the way up. Fishlegs followed, ascending part of the way until Astrid could drag the beam up onto the roof. Hiccup stopped what he was doing and helped finish the job, before stooping down and getting back to work.

It wasn't long before they were interrupted a second time.

"_Hiccup!"_

Fishlegs yelped from down below, and Hiccup gave a weary sigh. "Oh, geez." He looked over his shoulder and Astrid followed his gaze. Stoick the Vast thundered up the hill leading to the Hofferson home, his green eyes squinting against the autumn sun as he scanned the scene with poorly-concealed suspicion.

"Uh… hi, Dad," Hiccup called nervously from the roof. _Here we go again._

"Hiccup, what in Thor's name are you doing up there? Shouldn't you be helpin' Gobber in the forge?"

"He let me off so that I could work on this," Hiccup said, being almost deliberately vague.

"Did he now? And what is _this?"_ Stoick demanded, gesturing to the house at large. He wasn't in the best mood, he'd had a lot to do so far with the aftermath of the raid adding to his usual chief duties. So, when one of his fellow Vikings pointed out Hiccup and the Hofferson girl to him, he had been annoyed. Just this morning, he'd tried to communicate to Hiccup that he loved him, albeit in his own, constricted way, and then the boy skulked off to do something or another that would surely be a waste of time. He noticed the elder Ingerman boy at the base of the house by a ladder, practically shaking in his boots. What was his problem, Stoick wondered?

"Prototype fire control measures, Chief," Astrid reported, standing proud as she looked down on Stoick from the roof, "Hiccup's developed a machine that we hope will help the fire crew save houses more easily."

"Has he, now?" Stoick asked, his eyebrows raising just a hair. He examined the materials spread across the yard beside the house, and then glanced at the apparent base of the framework they'd been building. Was that a trough amongst all the lumber? An idea began to take shape in Stoick's mind. The chief wasn't an idiot, he was well-versed in most construction tools and simple machines; it was Hiccup that took these things to the extreme by building convoluted devices that confounded even the brightest Viking on Berk.

"That's right, Dad, using that trough down there and a pulley, we can dump water onto a house from above with a simple tug of the rope. It'll make the fire crew's job a lot faster and, hopefully, save lives while doing so," Hiccup explained, Astrid's intervention making it that much easier.

An understanding smile crept onto Stoick's face. This was a quite pleasant surprise! The prospective contraption burned into his mind's eye. If the device worked as Hiccup said, this would surely benefit the village.

"I think I understand now," Stoick said, "But there is simply no way that you can finish this device on your own. You will need help. I'll call over some of our carpenters to assist you."

Hiccup started to protest, "Oh, w-we don't want to pull hands away from rebuilding the village."

"I insist. Their absence will make things slower going, but if this device works and will allow us to rarely need to work on rebuilding in the future, then I see that as a positive for the village," Stoick insisted. "I'll be right back… keep up the great work, son!"

Stoick thundered off down the hill, bellowing for some of Berk's skilled carpenters.

"Did my Dad just approve of something I'm building?" Hiccup asked with hitched breath, "I might need another pinch to the arm, Astrid."

Astrid flashed a grin and snickered, "I think you heard right, Hiccup. And he's sending us some help. We'll be able to finish this quickly!"

Fishlegs piped up from down below, squeaking hopefully, "Ah, a-and if we do, is there any probability that we could build one of these on my house? I-If it works, it would be quite useful."

Hiccup beamed, "Count on it, Fishlegs."

* * *

As promised, a small group of carpenters soon arrived at the home, scrambling up the ladder to the roof and taking charge of the actual construction. Hiccup was a decent carpenter, but the men Stoick had sent made him pale in comparison, working more skillfully and efficiently than he could hope to match. Thanks to the extra hands, the prototype was completed within the hour.

Hiccup looked down from the roof as the finishing touches were being put on the machine, noticing that a handful of people had congregated nearby, their eyes trained on the work being done. It seemed that word had gotten around the village about the unusual new device, and rumors both good and bad were surely swirling.

"Ready to test this thing out?" Astrid inquired once the work was done and the carpenters were descending the ladder. Hiccup nodded and he followed her down the ladder. As they reached the ground, Snotlout and the twins, Hiccup's _favorite_ people (read: not favorite), pushed their way to the front of the crowd.

"What do ye suppose that thing is?" a Hooligan cried at another Viking.

"Hey, everyone. Thanks for coming out," Hiccup started, garnering the crowd's attention. Hundreds of eyes turned on him at once, causing a shiver to trail down his back. "I know you have a lot of questions so I'll try to answer as many as I can. This is a fire control machine. With this, we hope to make the fire crew's work faster and easier during raids," Hiccup explained. Astrid ran over to her front door and knocked, coaxing her mother out to the yard. Edna Hofferson admired the odd machine topping her house and shot a supportive look to Hiccup, a gesture he greatly appreciated.

"Yeah, right! I bet it doesn't even work!" Snotlout jeered.

Tuffnut chimed in with a haughty chuckle, "Yeah, I bet that instead of stopping fires, that thing will start them instead! Actually, that'd be pretty cool…" Ruffnut punched her twin brother in the head, stunning him as his helmet slumped out of place.

"See for yourself. Fishlegs?" Hiccup called to the husky boy still on the roof. He carried a large bucket of water, filling the last of the trough and hurrying down the ladder.

"All good, Hiccup!" the larger boy declared. Hiccup tensed and closed his hand gently around the release rope, preparing to tug it and turn the trough over.

Hiccup nodded and addressed the crowd, "Okay, so… let's imagine that the front side of the roof is on fire. All you have to do to put out the flames is grab the rope and…"

_Oh, gods, if you're there and you don't hate me like I think you do… please let this work,_ he prayed. Without further ado, he yanked the rope. The pulley unlocked with a _click_ and the whole trough suddenly turned over, containing the water inside it just enough to spill the majority of its contents right at the apex of the roof. As a result, the water flooded almost evenly down either side of the roof, washing its full area and spilling down the rest of the house.

A cheer went up through the onlookers and Hiccup turned around, amazed as he watched them jump and hoot and holler. He caught Snotlout's look of utter surprise, gaining immense satisfaction at the sight of the boisterous teen's mouth hanging open.

Astrid appeared in Hiccup's periphery and slugged him on the arm, grinning from ear to ear, "You did it!"

"_We_ did it," Hiccup corrected and shuffled his feet, "I never could've done this without you and Fishlegs, or the carpenters my dad sent."

Astrid chuckled. "You're too humble for your own good, you know that?"

"_Hiccup!"_ Stoick's yell erupted from the crowd and the chief pushed his way through, his lips curved in an unbreakable grin. The huge man leaned forward as he stepped up, placing his huge, meaty hands onto Hiccup's shoulders. "Congratulations, son. You did well."

"It wasn't just me," Hiccup insisted, "Everyone here did most of the work."

"Don't listen to this big idiot, Chief," Astrid interjected, "It was all his idea." Hiccup felt the impulse to hide his face. Was he blushing? He hoped he wasn't blushing.

Stoick nodded and smiled at Hiccup before he stood up fully and yelled to address the crowd. "Listen up! We have a few more days until another raid is due. I want a few more of these exact prototypes mounted on houses across the village! We must test this device in a raid situation."

Hooligans murmured in agreement and the carpenters who had been sent by Stoick all volunteered, as well as a few extra hands from the crowd. Stoick nodded and ordered the men to begin gathering wood for the frames, and they were off to work. The crowd dispersed, taking the Chief with them, and left Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs alone.

"Hiccup, it worked! It _really_ worked!" Astrid beamed, the success really dawning on her now.

Hiccup wouldn't have been able to stop smiling even if he wanted to. "Yeah, it… it did," he murmured, barely believing it himself, "This changes everything!"

* * *

The next raid came three nights later, and by then nearly a dozen homes across the village had Hiccup's fire prevention prototypes installed. A handful of homes caught fire—mostly ones that didn't have the system up top, but of the ones who did, the flames were quickly extinguished with a simple pull of the release rope.

Stoick declared the tests a rousing success. The morning after the raid, he commissioned an initiative to mass-produce Hiccup's new project on every house in Berk, and before the next raid, every home was equipped.

The next few weeks also marked a turning point for Hiccup in the village. Whenever he walked through the streets of Berk, he almost always got at least one supportive holler or whistle, sending him congratulations or thanks for developing the fire systems (often from someone who's house had been saved by his machine during the last raid). It put a real spring in Hiccup's step that, amazingly, never waned. His mood spilled over to his daily training with Astrid, and it was safe to say that in that time he'd made greater leaps and bounds in his skill and technique than ever before.

It was no exaggeration to say that for the first time in his life, Hiccup felt as if he were being treated like a real Viking, like a true member of the Hooligan Tribe rather than a skinny waste of space.

Everything came to a head one evening in the forge. The sun was on its way down—October was on its way out and the days were growing shorter and shorter now—and it was nearly time to close up shop. Hiccup and Gobber were bustling around the smithy, putting things away in preparation for closing up. A Viking approached the window as they were doing so, his large frame catching Gobber's attention. The blonde-headed blacksmith perked up, recognizing the man's bushy blonde goatee and long, braided golden hair.

"'Ello, Ingvar. Hiccup, help Ingvar with whatever he needs, will ye?" Gobber requested.

Hiccup set down the box of tools he'd been carrying and dusted off his hands, nodding and trotting to the window. Ingvar Hofferson stood at least a foot taller than him, looking down with a sort of mischief in his blue eyes.

"Well, if it isn't Hiccup the Use_ful!_" Ingvar declared, grinning as he trashed Hiccup's old, insulting nickname. "How are ye, son?"

"I'm rather well these days, sir," Hiccup answered, "What, ah, what can we do for you?"

"Ah, simple touch-up for me axe, here," Ingvar explained, unstrapping the extended weapon from his back. "Truth be told, I was hopin' you could do the sharpening. Gobber's good and all, but he don't smell too good and it taints me axe for a few hours after he's done."

Gobber rolled his eyes and laughed, pointing the hammer that was currently serving as his hand at the imposing man. "Oi, I'll knock ya right on the head with this here hammer, and then you won't even be able to _use_ the axe!"

Ingvar and Hiccup both laughed, and the large man handed his axe over to the younger boy. Hiccup caught the blade between his arms, grunting as he registered its absurd weight and listing to the right as he waddled over to the grindstone. Using his foot, he started up the wheel and nearly dropped the weapon onto it, instantly generating sparks as he began whittling away at the bumps and chinks in the blade. He worked as carefully as he could on the heavy weapon; one screw-up could damage the blade beyond repair.

"You know, Hiccup, I'm afraid I haven't thanked you for the work you did on our house putting up that fire prevention device," Ingvar said, hoping to make some conversation.

Hiccup shrugged, not taking his eyes off of the axe as he answered, "That was all Astrid, without her I wouldn't have gotten the chance to even start building up there. There's really no need to thank me, I should be thanking you for letting me."

"Ah, but there is!" Ingvar insisted, "Thanks to you, we haven't had any severe fire damage since! That device is really something. Of course, we luckily haven't needed to use our own quite yet, but it's really the talk of the village!"

"Ingvar's right, you ought to take some credit for it, lad," Gobber chimed in, "You're always sayin' things like tha', refusin' to acknowledge yer role in the whole thing. You did come up with it, after all!"

"But I really couldn't have done any of it without Astrid or Fishlegs. Thor, the only reason I even came up with it in the first place was because of Astrid," Hiccup said.

"Speaking of Astrid, I hear she's been teaching you to fight for the last couple o' weeks," Ingvar said.

Hiccup hoped that he wasn't blushing, "Oh, yeah, she has. It's been really great, actually. I'm really thankful for her help. She's a great teacher."

"She's a special one, aye. Perhaps you can come up with another device to help the village, don'tcha think?" Ingvar suggested.

Hiccup flinched. "Erm, maybe so. I'll see what I can do," he said, trailing off and quickly going back to work. After a few more seconds of careful sharpening, he lifted the axe off of the grindstone and hefted it over to the desk to quickly rebalance it. Once that was done, he dragged the axe back to Ingvar and handed it over. Ingvar graciously took the weapon and fished the correct amount of coins from a pouch fastened to his hip, dropping the money into Hiccup's waiting hands.

"Thank you, son. I'll be off now. You two take care. Later, Gobber," Ingvar said, smiling and walking away with the heavy axe strapped to his back once more, its silvery blade catching the evening sunlight and showing off its fresh edges.

Hiccup quickly picked up where he left off, putting away the last boxes of tools. Once that was done, Gobber dragged a meaty arm across his brow, wiping a sheen of sweat from his skin and letting out a relieved sigh. A gust of wind came howling through the forge window, chilling the open room.

"Alright, laddie, go on home. I'll finish up 'ere," Gobber said.

Hiccup shook his head, "No, I'll do it. I was late today, so I'll make up for it."

Gobber studied him for all of two seconds and then shrugged, no desire to fight for the honor of shutting down the smithy for the night. It was true, Hiccup _was_ late today, but Gobber had had no intention of holding that against him. If the lad truly wanted to be the one to finish the last few tasks, then so be it.

"A'right, laddie. I'll see you tomorrow. And don't forget to finish off the last of those embers, I won't be happy if ye burn down the forge," Gobber said. With that, he scuttled out the back door to head to his home.

Hiccup did as he was asked, killing the last stubborn sparks in the smithy's hearth and doing a quick sweep to ensure that everything was where it was supposed to be. Once he was sure of that, he carefully padded to his room in the back of the forge, quietly sliding open the curtain as if doing so any louder would alert the entire village. He crossed over into the small room, admiring the organized chaos of all the papers littering the floor and walls and desk. He lit a dormant candle by the door, bringing light to the dark space.

A few loose papers that had been lost to the floor crunched under his boots as he walked, looking around the room as if he were entering it for the first time. He hadn't been in here much since he'd made his promise to Astrid and given up his inventing habits for her fighting lessons.

_Perhaps you can come up with another device to help the village, don'tcha think?_

He hadn't answered Ingvar at first because of that very promise. But the experience of building the prototype fire system had ignited a spark in him that he'd only been able to keep at bay because of Astrid. All of the praise and approval and the claps-on-the-back had made him feel better ever before. He'd finally amounted to something on Berk. Couldn't he do that again?

A covered object in the corner of the room caught his eye. Hiccup knew exactly what was under it, but he still approached it with caution, as if the hidden contraption were a dangerous wild animal that would jump out and smite him for daring to approach.

Astrid didn't have to know. No one did. But every impulse in his brain told him that he had to do this: that he had to try, that he had to make his mark, and most importantly, that he _could._ He was better now. Maybe not a right proper Viking, but certainly closer to that than he had been just a few short months ago. More importantly, he knew what was wrong with his machines and he knew how to fix them. He knew how to be better.

Hiccup pulled the cloth cover up, unveiling the machine it was hiding.

The Mangler gleamed at him in the candlelight, as if knowing exactly what he intended.

* * *

**So, the fire prevention device is a success, and Hiccup is finally getting some respect. He's gonna chase the feeling. How could this go wrong, I wonder?**


	7. Useless

**(6/22/20): Still love this chapter. It borrows a lot from the movie scene, but I just love tinkering with characters' thoughts. And, of course, the little nuggets on Hiccup and Astrid's relationship.**

* * *

**_7\. Useless_**

The horn sounded two long, deep blasts, splitting the night with a bellowing echo.

_Dragon raid. _Hiccup seized awake and shot out of bed with the second pair of blasts, throwing his boots on and grabbing his sword off the hook on his bedroom wall. He would just be going to the forge like always, but recently he'd begun to like the feeling of having a weapon on him.

Not that he ever got a chance to go outside and use it, though.

He hadn't been asked to help the fire crew again, though that was really because there was no need. His fire prevention system had been installed on every house, so the fire crew merely patrolled the village during raids and pulled the ropes to flip the troughs and douse any house fires when necessary. If there wasn't any work to do after a raid, sometimes Hiccup would help refill the troughs.

He was simply more useful in the forge. With him and Gobber working together, the smithy was as efficient as ever during a raid. Hiccup threw open his bedroom door and galloped down the steps, finding the front door to the house already swung open. Stoick was ahead of him, as usual. Good.

Hiccup left the house and ran down the hill, glancing up into the dark sky and spotting a cluster of Gronckles buzzing their way into the village. Hooligans clashed with the incoming dragons, starting up a frenzy of fire and blood and steel.

Astrid's shouting caught his ear and his eyes. The fire crew spilled into the village, heeding Astrid's barked orders. A Nadder swooped over a house and spewed a stream of magnesium fire, but Fishlegs bounded over to the release rope dangling from the side of the house and tugged it, dumping a trough full of water over the house and extinguishing the flames.

Hiccup slowed to a jog as he passed by her, "Evening, milady."

"Hey, Hiccup," Astrid replied. She smiled until a crew of dragons set another three houses on fire. Astrid turned her attention away from Hiccup, snapping back at him just before she could take off, "I've gotta go. Get inside!" she said quickly before taking off to extinguish one of the burning houses.

Hiccup's chest tightened. He knew that she hadn't meant it to be insulting, but it still hurt to hear her say those words to him. That was all anyone had ever told him for most of his life whenever there was a dragon raid. It had been several weeks—ever since he developed the fire control system, people seemed to now believe he was competent—and it only strengthened his resolve. With a little luck, after tonight, no one would yell at him to _get inside_ ever again.

The forge came into view and Hiccup scrambled inside as a Zippleback spewed a stream of flaming gas at a cluster of Hooligans. The warriors all dove out of the way and turned to attack the two-headed beast, but the dragon had already flown out of reach.

"Ah, nice of you to join the party!" Gobber greeted. He banged on a mangled sword with his hammer, "I thought you'd been carried off!"

"Who, me?" Hiccup asked rhetorically. He ran to the forge window and took an axe from a waiting Viking before scrambling to the grindstone and continuing the conversation, "No, I'm way too muscular for their taste. They just wouldn't know what to do with all of _this."_

Gobber laughed. "Well, they need toothpicks, don't they?" The one-handed smith finished hammering out the twisted sword, dunked it in a barrel of cool water, and hobbled over to the next customer. He returned carrying a polearm with a wide, dull knife mounted on the end of it. Gobber scowled as he quickly sharpened the blade. Some of his tribesmen really needed to learn to bring in their dull weapons _before_ a dragon raid and have them worked on. The warriors who failed to do this really held up the line at the forge when raids started.

Hiccup fell into the spark-filled din of work, keeping his eyes and ears trained for any opportunity to escape and make his mark.

* * *

Stoick the Vast glowered up at the black sky. The devils had come back as expected, and they'd shown up in force. If their estimations were right, this would be the last raid of the year. The weather would grow too cold and the dragons' overall activity would plummet in preparation for winter. Berk just needed to hold out for a little longer, and then they'd be safe for a few months. The ice wouldn't set in for a while after that, but the beasts wouldn't come and that would allow Stoick to call for one more search for the nest.

Provided, of course, that he could get enough volunteers. That was always the hard part.

"What've we got, Ack?" Stoick asked. Ack, a skilled warrior and longtime friend, whirled around as a trio of Vikings he'd been with sprinted off into the action.

Ack quickly listed the dragons he had seen, "Gronckles, Nadders, Zipplebacks, oh and Hoark said he saw a Monstrous Nightmare."

Stoick nodded, eyes still trained on the skies, "Any Night Furies?"

"None so far."

"Good."

Stoick took off, brandishing his hammer as he thundered down the path into the fray. A Deadly Nadder swooped down near him, intending to take a sheep with it, and Stoick threw his hammer as hard as he could. The weapon crashed against the dragon's side and it dropped the sheep, squawking painfully as it flew off. The beast's flight was awkward—Stoick's hammer had definitely hurt it, though not enough to prevent the Nadder's escape. He moved on without dwelling on it, snatching up his hammer and continuing. Killing a dragon was nice, but more often than not the beasts knew when they were beaten and would fly away to protect themselves.

Braziers lifted into the air as he stormed to a catapult tower on the southern end of the island. The wooden structure loomed large, illuminated at its base by torches as the catapult at its peak fired off a boulder that clobbered a Zippleback in mid-air. From the top of the tower, Stoick could get a better look at the island and where the dragons were focusing their attack.

The climb was short, for Stoick had made it many times. He practically leaped the last ten feet of the structure, tearing his way up to the top. The men manning the catapult didn't acknowledge him—there was no need.

An explosion from down below rocked the village and drew the eyes of every man on the tower. A Zippleback had detonated the storehouse and was flying off, signaling with loud roars to the other dragons as livestock scurried outside of the collapsing storehouse and into the open.

"They found the sheep!" one of the Vikings cried.

"Concentrate fire over the lower bank!" Stoick ordered. The men obeyed, turning the catapult and loading it with a heavy boulder that they made look easy. A few dragons swooped into the field that the sheep had scattered into, perusing the potential take with just enough curiosity to distract themselves with. The catapult fired and a boulder struck a Nadder and sent it rolling away. With any luck, someone would finish the thing off down on the ground.

A dark, large shape passed by the catapult and swooped out of sight. Stoick flinched, uncertain about what he'd seen. He was getting older, and his eyes were nowhere near as good as they'd been just a decade ago, so it was hard to make out some details in the pitch black. Luckily, his question was answered for him an instant later as a huge fire flickered to life on the side of the catapult tower.

_Monstrous Nightmare._

The huge, flaming dragon tore through a support on the tower, sneering at Stoick as hungry flames lapped at its fireproof skin. Stoick glared evenly and brandished his hammer.

"Reload!" he ordered the men before putting all of his focus on the Monstrous Nightmare. "I'll take care of this."

Stoick lurched forward and swung the hammer twice, smashing the heavy weapon against the dragon's face and then swiping it back again to land a fast second blow. The Monstrous Nightmare snarled and lashed out, opening its huge jaws and snapping at Stoick with enough force to cleave the man in two. Stoick jerked to the side, avoiding the lethal bite and raising his hammer to bash the dragon's brains in.

He was frozen in his tracks by a distinctive, haunting scream from above. Everyone, even the Monstrous Nightmare, stopped immediately and looked to the sky. Stoick bit back a curse, knowing the sound anywhere just like every other Viking on Berk. A Night Fury had arrived.

The Monstrous Nightmare pushed off of the tower and flew away, its burning skin quickly extinguishing. Stoick snarled as he watched the prize dragon escape. The demon had done its work, distracting him for just long enough.

"Down!" Stoick roared to the men on the catapult. The ear-piercing scream of the night increased, becoming a damning howl as the unseen dragon closed in on its target, and a ball of pale bluish flame seemingly spawned in the darkness and tore the catapult to pieces. A jet-black shape flew overhead as the catapult exploded, giving light to the devil itself for a mere instant. The air _whooshed_ sharply as the dragon flew out of sight again and curved around, apparently doubling back towards the tower.

Stoick knew what was coming next. He yelled as loud as he could, _"JUUUUUUMP!"_

* * *

Hiccup watched from the forge window as the catapult tower erupted in another blast of white-hot flame. Small shapes clambered down the tower as it collapsed from the explosion. The catapult was useless now. The distinctive scream of a passing Night Fury rattled the smithy, pulling Hiccup's attention from his work as the black shape faded into the night once again.

A Night Fury was here. That was the first stroke of luck Hiccup needed tonight. The second stroke of luck came only moments later.

"Man the fort, 'Iccup!" Gobber called. The blacksmith unscrewed the hammer appendage affixed to his left hand, replacing it with a battle axe attachment, "They need me out there!"

Gobber hobbled out of the smithy without a second glance, trusting Hiccup to handle himself. The boy grinned, turning and heading for his room. He threw the cover off of the Mangler, grabbed it by its handles, and wheeled it carefully out of the forge before rolling it through the village. A few Hooligans that he passed by spotted him running with the device but paid him little attention. Once upon a time, they'd have called him out and asked questions.

Hiccup ran on, wheeling the Mangler as quickly as he could without a hint of remorse for leaving the forge unattended.

After all, he hadn't been explicitly told by Gobber to stay inside. He could always use that defense.

* * *

Astrid vaulted through the darkened streets of Berk, blonde bangs glowing every few seconds by the light of dragonfire passing overhead. The dragons were out in force tonight, bringing as much of their numbers as they could so they could gear up for the big sleep. It was showing, too. More houses than normal were catching fire tonight, allowing the devils to go for more sheep and yaks.

For a bunch of savage reptiles, they were strategic, all right.

Luckily, Hiccup's fire prevention system was coming in handy. Houses rarely burned for more than a minute now, and the water from the troughs soaked the wood enough to prevent the house from catching fire again later on. It was really quite the invention. She'd noticed the improvement to his morale in the past several weeks, too. He was finally getting along with Stoick, apparently, and even the village's general populace was treating him better. Astrid's own father had sung his praises for a time as well, though he'd spent more time than Astrid would've liked on the topic of their marriage contract when he sang those praises.

She tried not to think about it. There were far more important, far more _immediate_ things that demanded her attention right now, like dragon training.

Astrid slowed as she neared the center of town. The fire crew was scattered around town, the need for a general order between them much less important now that putting out fires was such a simple task. She glanced up at the black sky, bright blue orbs flicking back and forth as she watched a horde of various dragon breeds flit through the night.

Astrid looked back ahead of her, looking down the road for an instant. A flash of auburn caught her eye and Astrid looked back up ahead, freezing as she took in what she saw.

Hiccup was wheeling a clunky wooden contraption down the street, moving as quickly as he could and looking frantically back and forth. The look on his face was obvious: he was trying not to be seen, or at least be seen as little as he could in the middle of a crowded village during a dragon raid. Astrid afforded another glance at the strange gadget he was pushing, and her head pulsed with painful recognition. Its body was bulky and cylindrical, mounted on wooden wheels and decorated by a lever or two and some handholds.

She'd seen its like before.

In the corner of Hiccup's little room in the smithy.

Astrid took in what was quite likely the sharpest breath she'd ever mustered, _"Hiccup!?"_

Her voice carried. Hiccup stiffened, his bony back arching with shock as he stopped in his tracks. He knew her voice, and he carefully turned to look back at her. By now he was on the opposite end of the square, a dark hill leading up to the cliffs at his immediate left. Astrid figured it all out by the barely-contained terror in his green eyes. He'd been inventing behind her back.

_He'd been inventing behind her back._

There were no words to describe the tumultuous, roiling emotions rushing through her veins in that moment. Shock, confusion, _anger,_ betrayal… they all merged at once and rooted her in place. Hiccup appeared to be barely holding in his own panic, likewise unable to move as he held her gaze.

A Monstrous Nightmare roared as it descended from the sky, snatching a runaway sheep and discharging liquid fire onto a nearby house. Astrid's head swiveled and she eyed the house, and then she looked back to Hiccup. The dragon seemed to break him out of his terrified spell, and with only the briefest of looks thrown Astrid's way, he took off up the hill away from the square.

"Hiccup!" she snarled before whirling back to face the burning house. She broke into a furious sprint for the building, eyes fixed on the release rope dangling harmlessly by the house's exterior wall. Biting back a curse, she dove for the rope and tugged, hearing the telltale _click_ of the pulley and the _whoosh_ of the trough turning over. Water dumped out and spilled over the structure, easily putting out the blaze.

Astrid turned back towards the square, finding that Hiccup was nowhere to be seen. She took a handful of quick steps in that direction, only for Fishlegs to come skidding around the corner and block her path. The heavyset boy planted his feet to stop from crashing into her, nearly tipping ass-over-teakettle in the process. His face flushed.

"Oops! Sorry, Astrid. I guess you took care of the house, I figured there was a sixty percent chance that someone else was here, but I thought I'd head this way anyhow—"

"Fishlegs!" Astrid snapped, shutting him up. The husky boy squeaked and Astrid reached her hand up to his shoulder, deliberately pushing her way past him in the nicest way she could manage. "Take over for me. _I have an idiot to catch."_

She took off without another word, ignoring Fishlegs' confused shouts and focusing on running as fast as she could. She reached the square, avoiding a collision with another one of her tribesmen and continuing up the dark hill. She thought that she heard a pained roar from the night sky, but it was such a regular sound during raids that she thought nothing of it.

She spotted the wheel tracks almost as soon as she left the packed dirt path of the town and headed for the nearby cliff. Hiccup couldn't have made it easier for her if he'd tried.

When she got his hands on him, she was going to _kill_ him.

* * *

Hiccup ran faster than he ever had before as he fled from the square. The Mangler's wheels squeaked in protest, reluctantly spinning as he pushed the machine with every ounce of strength he had. He needed to be quick. That burning house wouldn't buy him much time thanks to his fire control system, and Astrid was fast.

He hated hiding this from her. She'd trusted him to honor his promise, and he hadn't done that. He couldn't explain it. He _had_ to do this. He'd spent the last two weeks working on the Mangler in what little spare time he had, carefully refining it and calibrating it until the device was finally ready to be tested, and not a minute too soon with this likely being the final raid of the year.

He came to a stop near the edge of a dark cliff. The sea churned a few hundred feet below him. Hiccup jerked the lever on the machine, suddenly opening it up and priming it for use in an instant.

"C'mon. Gimme something to shoot at, _gimme something to shoot at,"_ Hiccup whispered to himself, eyes trained on the night sky. His vision quickly adjusted, and he thought he saw a black shape darting past the stars. He heard the telltale whistling and knew he'd found his target.

Hunching down so that he could peer through the weapon's crosshairs, he shifted the Mangler and followed the Night Fury's shape. The jet-black dragon shot a blast of bluish flame at a tower and illuminated its shape perfectly for just a second. Hiccup pivoted his device with the beast's motion, waiting for all of another split-second before squeezing the trigger.

His entire body seized as the machine shook violently, firing the bola it had been loaded with. _Thor, that was one hell of a kick,_ Hiccup thought as he hit the ground with a thud. He instantly shot back up, training his eyes on the black sky just as he heard a distinct snapping noise. A pained roar echoed from the darkness and a motionless shape plummeted through the sky, disappearing from sight near Raven Point.

"I hit it," Hiccup whispered. Sheer, raw euphoria suddenly exploded through him and he shot to his feet, throwing his arms in the air. He'd hit it! _"Yes! I hit it!_ Did _anybody_ see that!?"

"_HICCUP!"_

He froze. The temperature seemed to rise, and he knew Astrid was cresting over the hill behind him. He turned, flinching back as he saw her. She looked livid, her eyes burning like that of a vengeful Valkyrie.

"Astrid!" Hiccup breathed, in the moment completely forgetting his transgression that had brought her after him, "You're never going to believe this, but I hit it! I actually hit it!"

"Stop talking!" Astrid seethed, not even listening to him. "You lied to me! You told me you weren't inventing anymore, and you were!"

Oh, _right_.

"A-Astrid." Cautiously, he raised his hands up as if to protect himself. "I know, I know that I was keeping this from you, but—"

Astrid gasped. She was looking past him now, her face paralyzed with fear. Her hand instinctively reached for her battle axe. Perplexed, Hiccup turned around to follow her eyes, and he staggered back as he saw it. A huge Monstrous Nightmare had scaled the cliff and was now crawling over the edge to them. The dragon stalked forward, its huge foot stamping on the Mangler and crushing it like an acorn as claws longer than Hiccup's arm tore at the grass.

"Aw, come on, you couldn't just like… avoid that?" Hiccup lamented, as if that irritating sarcastic side of him wasn't grasping how bad the situation had just become.

"Run!" Astrid yelped. Even she was afraid. She'd fought one dragon before, and that wasn't even really a fight. This was something else. A Deadly Nadder was one thing. A _Monstrous Nightmare_ was another beast entirely for an inexperienced warrior, no matter how physically skilled. She knew nothing about this particular species, except that only a handful of Vikings on Berk had ever killed one.

Hiccup didn't protest, turning tail and running in stride with Astrid. The Nightmare followed, nipping at their heels as they bolted down the path they'd both come up on. The dragon on their tails seemed to decide that merely chasing them wasn't satisfactory and spewed a stream of flame at them. Astrid looked back just in time and shoved Hiccup to the side, causing the blast of fire to miss.

"We're leading it into the village," Astrid panicked. She reached for her axe, "Get help, I'll fight it off!"

Astrid whirled around with her axe in hand. Hiccup turned as well, though, reaching his arm out in protest. He wasn't leaving her to fight this thing alone.

"Astrid, no! You can't fight that thing, I'm not—"

She didn't listen, rearing up and sending her axe in a perfect arc at the charging Nightmare. The dragon saw the incoming axe and ducked, using its intricate horns to snag and discard the weapon. The huge dragon focused entirely on Hiccup and lashed out as it reached Astrid, ducking its head and batting the girl away with a quick swipe.

"Astrid!" Hiccup shouted as the girl was bounced away. The Monstrous Nightmare roared and captured his full attention, and he turned and sprinted away again. The dragon doggedly followed, surely intent on killing the boy. He looked back quickly and saw the dragon was stirring up another blast of fire and he ducked, changing course. The Nightmare's fire stuck to the nearby wall and the dragon continued its pursuit into town.

Hiccup only got about twenty more steps before he stepped on a rock of some sort and lost his footing—because of course he did. The boy fell unceremoniously to the ground, quickly reacting to try and flee once more. The Nightmare snapped at his legs, just barely missing, and Hiccup whirled around on his back, at a complete loss for what to do rather than pitifully back up. He drew his sword, holding it out in front of him defensively and slowly backing up as he kept the blade level.

The Monstrous Nightmare stalked closer, snarling viciously. Out of instinct, Hiccup reared his sword back and swung, but the dragon easily countered, snatching the sword in between its jaws with no difficulty. With a quick twist, the Nightmare ripped the weapon free from Hiccup's hands and tossed it to the side.

Hiccup scooted back across the ground some more. He felt his head meet the wooden post of a brazier—once again, because of course he did—and ceased moving, cornered and completely unable to go anywhere now. The Nightmare crept closer, opening its mouth for what would surely be a killing blow. Gas hissed in the back of its throat, signaling the end.

Until a large shape crashed into the dragon's head. The Nightmare's fire erupted from its throat just before the new attacker could totally ruin its aim, and Hiccup curled up on the ground as the fire struck about a foot above where his head had just been and torched the wooden post. The boy looked up in shock, spotting an unmistakable hulking shape with a full beard of Haddock red hair facing off against the Nightmare.

The dragon snarled, furious that it had been foiled, and made to spit another blast of fire. Unfortunately for the dragon, all that came out was a belch of pitiful burning liquid; it had used up the last of its shots.

Stoick half-grinned and approached the dragon imposingly. "You're all out," he snarled before delivering a haymaker that sent the dragon reeling. The Nightmare tried to recover, but Stoick was on it in an instant and landed another quick series of powerful punches. The dragon screeched and took to the skies, knowing that the battle was lost and choosing self-preservation over pride.

Stoick nodded approvingly and turned around, suddenly scowling as he took in the disastrous scene. Hiccup was standing again, a blank look on his face, and the brazier post finally collapsed, unable to bear the strain of its weakened base anymore. The round brazier tumbled to the ground with the ruined post, breaking off and rolling down the hill towards the village. The flaming wheel spun towards a farm, and a small group of Vikings dove for their lives out of the way, the net they'd been holding down going slack and allowing the dragons trapped underneath to escape.

"…Sorry…Dad…" Hiccup murmured. Moments later, the dragons flew off with a sizable take, dragging sheep after sheep in their talons.

Hiccup watched with a blank yet knowing look on his face. This fell on him, and he knew it. But surely, once they heard about what he'd done on the cliff, he'd be forgiven, right? _Right?_

"Okay, but I hit a Night Fury."

_Wrong_.

Stoick's meaty hand grabbed the back of his collar, literally dragging him along. He only managed to keep his footing because he'd grown used to being pulled away after one of his brilliant inventions went wrong and he knew the pace that his father often walked with when he was in a bad mood. It had been some time since he'd been on the receiving end of such a treatment, but his memory was all too perfect.

Time for damage control.

"C'mon, Dad, I'm telling the truth, I really, actually hit it," Hiccup insisted, his voice becoming nasally as he stammered. "I hit it from the cliff, you can go see for yourselves! You guys were busy and I had a very clear shot. It went down just off of Raven Point, if we get a search party out there I bet we can still find—"

"_STOP!"_ Stoick yelled, letting go of the boy's collar and whirling around on him. Hiccup staggered back a step, his chest clenching in surprise. Stoick sighed, a weary hand grazing his forehead. Hiccup noticed his brow was glistening with sweat. "Just _stop,_ Hiccup. _Please._ Do you not understand what you've done? Can you not _see_ that I have bigger problems to deal with? The dragons haven't had such a large take in weeks! Winter is almost here, and I have an _entire_ village to feed! _Why_ can't you just follow the simplest orders?"

"I-I-I can't stop myself, Dad! I see a dragon, and I have to just…_kill it,_ you know? It's who I am, Dad," Hiccup said.

Stoick sighed again, defeated. "You are many things, Hiccup, but a dragon killer is apparently not one of them. You've been so much better these past few months, that I thought you were growing up, that you were growing out of this… foolishness. I see now that I was wrong about that."

"Dad, I—"

"Stop. Go home," Stoick ordered. He glanced up, eyes falling on Gobber. "Make sure he gets there! I have his mess to clean up."

Gobber stepped up and placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, leading him off towards the chief's house on the hill. A chorus of snickers went up as they walked, passing by the fire crew on the way.

"Quite the performance," Tuffnut mockingly congratulated him. Ruffnut shoved him out of annoyance, heart not in it for once to piggyback on the insults, but there was no such force stopping Snotlout from joining in.

"I've _never_ seen anyone mess up that badly. That helped!"

Hiccup wanted to ignore them both, but that unique sarcastic side of him wouldn't let that happen, so he drawled out a self-deprecating answer, "Thank you, I'll be here all week…"

"Ignore them, laddie," Gobber advised under his breath, but even he couldn't conceal the disappointment in his voice.

He glanced up then, spotting Fishlegs and Astrid standing quietly at the end of the line. Fishlegs wouldn't look at him, fixing his eyes on the ground and nervously tapping his fingers together. Astrid, on the other hand, wouldn't take her eyes _off_ of him. She'd recovered her axe, holding it close to her chest, and she appeared uninjured from her unsuccessful tangle with the Nightmare, but it was her eyes that caught his attention.

She looked at him with pain in her eyes, holding his emerald gaze with her beautiful blue orbs for just a few seconds before looking away with a frown and staring forlornly at the grass.

And just like that, she'd said a thousand words without ever opening her mouth. The disappointment on her face was as clear as day.

Hiccup could live with the other teens' constant jeering. He _had_ lived with it for most of his life whenever he did something foolish or wrong.

But the look on Astrid's face hurt him more than the insults ever could.


	8. Raven Point

**[7/23/20]: Small edits for details and clarity.**

* * *

**_8\. Raven Point_**

"Either we finish them, or they'll finish us!"

Stoick's voice was cold and commanding, a thunderclap sent from Thor himself with a strike of his anvil. The silence in the Great Hall was deafening. Every adult in the village had been called to the huge building, wrapped in several circles around the Chief and waiting. A huge sword hung suspended from the ceiling, burying its blade through the body of a brass dragon.

Stoick had done some hard thinking while repairing the village—while cleaning up _Hiccup's_ mess. The disastrous raid had only strengthened his resolve to find the dragons' nest before winter came and froze the very ocean. They had time, but not much, and they had to exploit it now while they still could. Stoick flattened his huge hands on the ancient table, a large map spread out underneath him.

He grabbed a knife and buried it in the parchment of the map, stabbing through the representation of the uncharted region known collectively as Helheim's Gate. The place was as mysterious as could be, totally unexplored and marked by a massive wall of never-ending fog (there had been a time when some had preferred the name Niflheim's Gate, but the hellish reptiles had ultimately felt more in line with creatures from the realm of the dead). The only thing that was known about the place was that the archipelago's dragons nested somewhere in its fog.

"It's the only way we'll be rid of them. If we find the nest and destroy it, then the dragons will leave! They'll find another home!" Stoick ignored the nervous looks of many of his fellow Vikings. They knew what was coming, but he pressed anyway. He had to do this. They had to destroy the beasts. "One more search, before the ice sets in."

"Stoick, those ships never come back…" someone droned from the crowd.

"We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard!" Stoick barked, "Now who's with me?" His answer was a collective unsettled groan. Vikings looked back and forth at each other, mumbling excuses. Stoick crossed his arms and straightened his posture, wearing a disappointed scowl. "All right, fine. Those who stay will look after Hiccup."

It was like flipping a switch. Hands shot into the air and cries of _"To the ships!"_ and _"I'm with you, Stoick!"_ echoed around the hall. The boy had been better lately, the whole village knew that, but last night had been a bad indicator of the boy's past behavior, and no one wanted to deal with the boy if he was spiraling back into his old ways.

Stoick kept the same hard look on his face, but there was a hint of satisfaction lurking on his tongue. "That's more like it."

The meeting was adjourned shortly after, the full details of the upcoming expedition laid out before the village. Most of the able warriors in the village would be setting sail the next morning. Berk's people trickled out, emptying the Great Hall and leaving Stoick to wander the ancient room with only a few pairs of eyes still lingering nearby. He stepped toward a table where Gobber was seated. The blacksmith swigged the last of the ale in his mug, which was conveniently attached to his arm.

"I'll make sure to pack extra undies," Gobber said, wiping his mouth with a meaty arm.

"No," Stoick said quickly, "I need you to stay here and train the new recruits after we leave."

"Oh, really? And who do ya suppose is goin' to cover the stall while I'm busy with that?"

"Hiccup will."

Gobber went still at that, earning a raised eyebrow from Stoick. "What?" the chief growled.

"You're not puttin' the boy in training?" Gobber asked.

"Not after what he pulled tonight," Stoick growled.

Gobber slammed his mug-arm down on the table, fixing a disbelieving stare at his old friend. Some of his ale sloshed around and spilled over the rim of his cup. "What do ye mean, after what he pulled tonight?"

"You saw what he did."

"Aye, I did, and the lad made a mistake. Is this really your idea of a punishment, Stoick?" Gobber snapped, "All that boy's ever wanted is to fight dragons. Finally, after so long, he seems to have turned a corner. He's been on top of the world lately, what with finally making a successful invention. Astrid comes by the forge all the time to tell me how he's been training with her. It's no wonder he thought he could make some of his crazy old toys work!"

"Gobber…"

The old blacksmith wasn't having any of it. "That boy is going to be chief one day, and whether you like it or not, Stoick, you won't always be around to protect him. Ye can't just keep sticking him inside whenever a raid 'appens. That's never worked before, and it's not going to start working now." Stoick gave Gobber a hard stare, as if he really thought Gobber would break down and back off.

He should've known better.

"If you keep trying to protect him and hold him back, he's ne'er going to learn," said Gobber, "He's ne'er going to be ready to take your place when the time comes."

Stoick sighed. Gobber was right. Leave it to a blacksmith with two whole limbs to know better than him. "All right, Gobber, I… I'll think on it."

"You'd better. Else I'll have to knock some sense into that thick head o' yours. Neither of you Haddock men are fond of listenin'."

* * *

The peak of Raven Point loomed overhead, a dull hum from the nearby sea echoing through the woods beneath it. Birds sang in the trees and leaves crunched under Hiccup's boots as he walked down the path, scowling at his sketchbook. He'd drawn a makeshift map of the woods and marked multiple spots that the Night Fury might've landed. Not his best idea, but... what other choice did he have?

He'd left as soon as he was out of Gobber's sight. The blacksmith had led him home and they'd had an inspiring conversation about Hiccup's relationship with his father before Hiccup had dejectedly sulked his way indoors with a heartbreaking, _"I just wanna be one of you guys…"_

It had then taken him all of ten seconds to grab his things, pounce out the back door and head for the woods. If the village didn't believe that he'd actually hit a Night Fury, then he'd just have to find it on his own and prove them all wrong.

At least, that had been the plan over an hour ago. He'd searched every place that he'd marked on his crude map, basing his estimations on the angle he'd seen the black shape fall from the sky. It probably wasn't the most foolproof method, but he'd expected to find the thing by now. The woods around Raven Point really weren't _that_ big.

Anger flushed to Hiccup's hands and he crossed out another potential landing spot… and then promptly scribbled all over the page before snapping the book shut in a fit of irritation.

"Oh, the gods hate me," Hiccup lamented, tucking the little book away in the inside pocket of his fur vest. "Most people lose their shoe or their knife, but _no,_ not me! No, I manage to lose an entire dragon!"

Hiccup grabbed at a branch that was hanging in his path and flung it away, only for it to swing back and slap him straight in the face.

"_Ow!"_ His hand flew to his face, fingertips brushing against the fresh red mark on his face. It stung like Hel. Biting back a curse, Hiccup glanced back at the offending tree, and his breath hitched as he noticed the massive, unnatural tear through its trunk. The wood was splintered beyond repair, and the hill just beyond the tree had been torn all to Hel, grass and rock uprooted and replaced with a mess of dirt and mud that stretched at least a hundred feet.

Well, that was why the branch was so low. It had likely been much higher until _something_ tore through the tree it was connected to.

Curiosity overwhelming him, Hiccup carefully padded down the ruined hill, taking great care not to lose his footing and receive his own personal mud bath. The terrain crested up again, meeting a rock formation that obscured the view beyond. Hiccup didn't let himself hope until he clambered up the rock and laid eyes on the jet-black shape.

He gasped and crouched immediately, heart pounding in his chest. Once he heard no movement, he peered up over the boulder, taking in the details. The dragon was motionless, strung up in thick ropes and weighed down by the heavy balls attached to the ends.

_No way._

Hiccup crept around the boulder, again carefully scaling down the uneven terrain until he was on the same level as the unmoving dragon. Was it dead?

Hiccup decided it didn't matter as a rush of disbelief and euphoria clouded his brain. "Oh, Thor, I did it. I did it! This fixes everything! Yes!" He'd killed a dragon! Clumsy, useless Hiccup Haddock had slain the most feared creature in the world! He sauntered up to the lifeless shape, bringing up a scrawny leg and stepping down on its body triumphantly. Surely, this was the start of his saga. The literal stuff of legends! "I have brought down this mighty…!"

There was a low, annoyed grumble and the dragon's leg shoved upward, knocking Hiccup's foot (and his entire body) away. A gasp slipped out of his throat and Hiccup scampered back against the boulder, drawing his knife in an instant and pointing it fearfully in the dragon's general direction.

The Night Fury was not dead.

Hiccup's eyes trailed to the left, and he locked eyes with the beast. It must've been sleeping, trapped here for the last few hours. The dragon's pupil was narrowed into the thinnest slit Hiccup had ever seen, and the rest of its eye was a pale green that rooted Hiccup to the ground for a moment.

He couldn't be afraid. This dragon wasn't going anywhere. It was trapped in his invention, and it was his to kill.

He _was not_ afraid.

He stepped forward, the knife clenched tightly in both of his hands. "I'm gonna kill you, dragon," Hiccup hissed, though more to convince himself rather than the downed reptile, "And then I'm… I'm gonna cut your heart out and take it to my father. I'm a Viking… _I am a Viking!"_

The dragon's eyes widened slightly, fixed unrelentingly on Hiccup. The irony was too sweet: a talking fishbone bringing down the deadliest, most feared dragon in his people's history, and having it at his mercy. _His!_

Hiccup raised the knife, shutting his eyes tight and preparing to end the beast's life with a single, true stroke. This was what legends were made of, he told himself. His first dragon kill would also be his greatest. He'd be the first in his age group to slay one, beating even Astrid to the punch. And it would be a _Night Fury._ Surely, this was where his legend began: the legend of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. He thought it had felt good to be praised after he'd invented his fire prevention system; the respect that followed this would be on an entirely different level.

He wanted another look at the beast. His eyes slid open and Hiccup glanced at the downed dragon, expecting the beast to be stare him down with hate in its eyes, to go out defiantly even as it could no longer move. Instead, the dragon released a pitiful exhale, and the pupil of its eye grew slightly wider as if to plead with him for mercy.

Wait, no. That wasn't right. Dragons didn't plead for their lives. Who had ever heard of such a thing? Dragons felt nothing but bloodlust and hunger and malice. They were devils, the scourge of the entire archipelago.

And yet here he was, gaze fixed on the Night Fury that was so clearly begging for its life like a wounded pup, trapped as it stared certain death in the face. Did it have a family, back wherever its nest was? Did it have friends that would miss it, wondering where it had gone and why it had not come home?

Just like that, if only for a moment, Hiccup was back in the Kill Ring all those weeks ago, staring at the wounded Nadder locked up in its cell, paralyzed by fear and sadness. The Nadder had been lucky. The Night Fury was not so fortunate. It was going to die because of him.

Hiccup snapped his eyes shut, forcing them to stay closed and raising his knife even higher. He heard the dragon moan pitifully, and something heavy slumped onto the ground—probably the dragon's head.

The dragon was doomed. Its life was over.

_Because of him._

He couldn't do it. He couldn't kill another living thing, dragon or not.

"I did this."

Hiccup's arms slumped, his knife landing horizontally atop his head in shame. He couldn't fight dragons. He _didn't want to._ Humiliated, he started to walk away, hearing the Night Fury's steady breathing. He glanced back at it, seeing that the dragon's eyes had closed. It must've decided that it was safe and gone back to resting, its hurried breathing slowed, and its nerves calmed.

Hiccup stalled. The Night Fury wasn't safe, not as long as it stayed here, anyway. If he left it where it lay, someone else would come along. They'd see the carnage left by the dragon's landing and investigate, and then they'd find it here. And that person would be nowhere near as compromising, reasonable, or _useless_ as he. Hiccup looked down at his knife, and then at the ropes binding the Night Fury to the ground. Maybe he could do some good.

_Oh, Thor, what am I doing?_

The first rope ripped easily thanks to a clean cut from his knife. He thought he saw a flash of pale green as the dragon's eyes reopened, but he ignored it. He slashed through another rope, feeling the entangling bola begin to go slack. He cut through a third rope, and then a fourth, and that was when it happened.

The Night Fury surged up, shoving Hiccup back the good fifteen feet into the boulder that had originally hid the dragon from view. Obsidian claws flexed and wrapped around his neck, pinning his scrawny frame to the rock. Hiccup squinted, shrugging off the resulting dizziness and looking up at his attacker. He got a good look at the dragon now, up close and personal.

It was smaller than he expected, clearly the price for the species' unmatched speed and agility. The dragon's wings complimented its small stature, powerful and menacing and jet-black, as if the dragon were some sort of flying reaper.

Its green, _green_ eyes bore into his very soul. If he weren't already pinned down to this boulder, he'd be frozen in place by just the sight of them. This was easily the most terrifying thing he'd ever experienced. The Monstrous Nightmare from last night had been frightening, but in a different, more urgent way. This beast—a _Night Fury_—was an entirely different kind of fearsome, the kind that sent tangible chills down a person's back and stuck with them, leaving them constantly looking over their shoulder. It shook Hiccup to his very core.

Then the dragon opened its mouth, two rows of serrated teeth somehow glinting in the hazy, gray light of the forest.

Oh, this was just perfect. He'd freed the deadliest dragon in existence, and now it was going to kill him right then and there. Without a doubt, this was the dumbest, most boneheaded thing that he'd ever done, and it was going to cost him his life.

He'd never get to tell Astrid how he felt.

The Night Fury reared up, surely summoning a killing blast… and roared as loud as it could right in his face. The sound rattled his head, nearly concussing him, and some spittle dotted his face.

And then the dragon whirled around and flew off, struggling as it went until it was out of sight.

Hiccup shuffled upward and leaned against the boulder, on the verge of hyperventilating. The dragon hadn't killed him. He slowly stood, staring at the slashed ropes. He stumbled away, trying to process what had just happened.

The dragon hadn't killed him. He was alive.

The dragon hadn't…

Hiccup collapsed, fainting before he even hit the ground.

* * *

Hiccup was late for work again thanks to his unexpected nap in the forest. When Gobber had asked him where he'd been, Hiccup merely said he was looking for the Night Fury, but that it had gotten away. At least it wasn't a total lie. The dragon _had _escaped, just not without help.

"I don't want to talk about it, Gobber," he'd summarized, and the old blacksmith had dropped it and they'd gotten to work. Astrid never came by the forge that day, and Hiccup couldn't keep himself from dwelling on it no matter how distracting his work. Surely, she'd never talk to him again. It all made him realize just how much he coveted her friendship. Not seeing her for the entire day left a hole in his heart, like a part of him had gone missing.

They closed up the forge at sunset and Gobber sent him on his way. Hiccup trudged home, noticing how people avoided looking at him as he went through the village. A few days ago, nearly every Viking he crossed paths with in the village gave him a wave or a smile or a clap on the back. There were no such pleasantries tonight. Everything suddenly seemed back to _normal._

His heart jumped into his throat when Astrid crossed his path, axe strapped to her back and a spring in her step.

"Hey, Hiccup!" she said, oddly cheerful.

"Oh, ah, hi, Astrid. Hi." _Real smooth there, Hiccup._

"What's up?" Astrid asked, still grinning. Gods, she was beautiful.

_I shot down a Night Fury and nobody believed me. So I went and found it, and then I let it go. I could've killed it, but I didn't, and I'm a traitor to the village._

"Oh, the usual… just headed home. What's got you in such a chipper mood, milady?" Hiccup asked, feeling utterly stupid as he used that phrase. Surely his monumental stupidity had cost him the privilege of calling her by such a nickname.

"You didn't hear?" Astrid asked, eyes lighting up, "We start dragon training tomorrow!"

Hiccup's eyes widened, and he felt a surge of pride, though it wasn't for him. The emotion didn't travel up to his face, though, and Astrid caught his glum look. Her expression softened and she looked down. Her free hand found her other arm, rubbing it gently as she twisted her lips in deep thought. Was that… _regret_ on her face?

"Hey… I'm sorry."

Wait, what?

"Sorry?" Hiccup stuttered.

"Yeah. I'm sorry. For trying to force you to stop building. I never should've given you that ultimatum, I never should have made you choose between your passion and training with me," Astrid said. Hiccup carefully started to stand, not believing his ears, "I thought I could make you better, if I made you focus on something more Viking-like. But that's just who you are, Hiccup… you build things. I tried to take that away from you… it's no wonder you went behind my back."

Hiccup struggled to find his words, "A-Astrid, that's not—oh, man." He collected himself, breathing in to steady himself before looking at Astrid with a steadier expression, "I'm not angry with you, not at all. I shouldn't have gone behind your back. I just… everyone's been treating me so much better ever since I made the fire prevention thing. Every time I walked through the village, I saw _my_ invention on top of everyone's house; something that _I_ built that actually worked and improved the village.

"People made me feel like I was worth it. They'd talk to me when they passed me, they'd clap me on the back and say, _'good job, Hiccup'_ and no one besides you and sometimes Gobber had ever said that to me. And eventually push came to shove and I felt like I could keep making the village better, like I could keep succeeding."

_And I was totally right._

"But I was wrong. I started inventing in secret, and it cost the village a lot. I screwed up. But, all of… _this_ has nothing to do with you," Hiccup said, gesturing to himself, "I promise. There's just… a lot going on right now."

Astrid had brightened as he went on, the slightest of smiles gracing her face. She was even more beautiful when she smiled, Hiccup thought. It was like improving something that was already oh so perfect. He should make her smile more often, if only to boost the light in his everyday life.

"…Okay," Astrid finally said. "Are we good?"

"Yeah. We're great," Hiccup said, grinning.

"Good," Astrid answered. She nodded now, visibly relieved. "Thanks, Hiccup." They walked side by side until they reached a fork in the road traveling up the hill, separating their paths. Astrid's house stood at the end of right path, while Hiccup's sat at the end of the left, both homes overlooking the village while their backs stood against the western woods.

"This is me," Astrid said, stopping and glancing at Hiccup. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

She slugged him on the arm, grinning, and he forced a smile. "Okay. Later, Astrid."

She took off without another word, leaving Hiccup in loathsome silence. He groaned once she was out of earshot. She'd been looking forward to dragon training for her entire life, and now she was about to get her wish. And she always went on and on about how he'd be there with her, learning to be the next generation of warriors defending their village from dragons.

Unfortunately, the day before dragon training was the exact day that Hiccup had learned that he did not want to fight dragons.

He shoved the front door open half-heartedly when he reached it, not caring about the squeaking sound that it made. He regretted his carelessness upon looking up and finding that he wasn't alone. Stoick glanced up from a mug of ale, his face seemingly made of stone.

"Hiccup."

"Dad," Hiccup answered nervously. He wrung his hands, not sure how he should start. He'd hoped that he would have a little more time to collect his thoughts before facing his dad, "I… I need to talk to you."

"I need to speak with you too, son," Stoick said, standing up from the bench he'd been seated on and stepping closer, the creaking floorboards and the crackling hearth across the room the only noises in the house. Once Hiccup was quite literally in his shadow, they both opened their mouths to speak.

They spoke over each other perfectly, neither hearing what the other had to say.

"Sorry. You go first," Stoick offered.

"No, no, you go first," Hiccup insisted, falling silent.

Stoick nodded, wringing his massive hands and taking a breath, "The raids are done for the year, as I'm sure you're aware. That means you get your wish: Dragon training. You start in the morning."

Hiccup sucked in a breath. He should've known that was exactly what his dad was going to say. Of _course,_ the one thing that he had to say to him was a direct contradiction to what Hiccup needed to say. He panicked.

"Oh, man, I should've gone first. Yeah, um, I heard from Astrid. Listen, Dad, you know…" Hiccup stammered, "I… I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I decided that, well… I don't want to fight dragons."

Stoick chuckled, walking away and taking a long sip from his mug, "Come on, son, yes you do."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Fine, rephrase: Dad, I _can't_ kill dragons."

"But you will kill dragons!" Stoick insisted positively.

"No, I'm really, _very_ extra sure that I won't."

"Hiccup," Stoick interrupted, turning on the smaller boy again. "This is what you are meant for. You've been training for months now with the Hofferson girl. It's time that you showed what you've learned and what you can do. This is the next step to becoming a man."

_Funny, I thought that was covered when you betrothed me at fourteen years old._

"When you carry your sword, or an axe, or a hammer, or whatever you walk into war with, you carry _all of us_ with you. You walk like us. You talk like us. You _think_ like us," Stoick explained. He scrutinized Hiccup and gestured with his meaty hands, "No more of… _this."_

"But you just gestured to all of me," Hiccup groaned.

"Deal?" Stoick asked.

"This conversation is feeling very one-sided."

"Deal?" Stoick repeated, raising his voice just a hair.

Hiccup sighed, all too aware that there was no getting out of this. His dad had already made up his mind on the matter, which meant it was final.

"Deal."

Stoick nodded fiercely and stepped away, giving Hiccup that stern glare that meant he expected Hiccup to do what he was asked, "Good. Now, go upstairs and get some rest. You'll need it."

Hiccup faltered, trudging toward the steps, "Great… can't wait."


	9. Welcome to Dragon Training

**_9\. Welcome to Dragon Training_**

The morning came quick and breezed by. The village started early; the Chief wanted to be out on the seas within an hour after sunrise. They were taking the entire fleet now that the dragons weren't coming back, and save for a few, every able-bodied warrior in the village was going. Stoick was determined to find the nest this time, and the Chief knew he'd need every last man that he could afford if they did.

The ships were loaded with more weapons than Hiccup had ever seen. Combined with the weight of the Vikings boarding them, it was kind of a wonder that they even stayed afloat. Hiccup had parked himself by the top of the ramps leading down to the docks, watching with a pensive eye. He was used to his dad and many of the warriors leaving for Helheim's Gate to find the dragons' nest. It was his father's greatest dream, and he'd been trying since the death of Hiccup's mother. It would be Stoick's ultimate revenge, provided that he could find the place first. Three hundred years of trying had failed, and Hiccup personally didn't expect this voyage to be the one that succeeded.

Gobber appeared at his side, sighing at the sight of the ships being loaded. Astrid was with him, her axe strapped to her back like always.

"You know that it's wintertime when Stoick the Vast loads up his warriors and sails off to find the dragons' nest…" the blacksmith lamented. He was one of the few men that would stay behind, charged with running dragon training. Hiccup found at least a little comfort in that, as well as the fact that Astrid would be with him. He had no intention of succeeding in training—Astrid was the one who deserved the honor of victory. Even if he wanted to try, she would beat him out. She was the best warrior of all of them.

"Well, laddie, I suppose we should head down and say our farewells," Gobber suggested, waddling down the steps and to the series of wooden ramps heading down to the ships. The loading was nearly finished, with a few stragglers hauling the last of the necessary equipment for the voyage. Stoick spotted Gobber easily, stepping away from his ship at the head of the fleet to trot over towards the blacksmith and Hiccup. The deck creaked under the Chief's weight.

"I hope you intend to return to us in one piece," Gobber snapped.

Stoick chuckled, "Of course I do." The two longtime friends clasped one of their hands around each other's forearm in a gesture of goodwill, and Stoick released Gobber to speak to Hiccup. Stoick placed a huge hand on Hiccup's small shoulder, nodding at him. "Train hard, son. Do what Gobber says. I'll be back. Probably."

"And, I'll be here… maybe," Hiccup sighed in answer, pointing his eyes at the ground.

Stoick breathed and released Hiccup, stepping back and nodding at Gobber before turning back to the ships. "Set sail!" the Chief roared, "We head for Helheim's Gate!"

Then Stoick jumped onto his ship and the fleet detached from the docks, sailing off in little clusters for the open sea. Gobber waddled back the way he'd come, but Hiccup stayed standing on the dock, eyes fixed on the departing ships.

Astrid appeared in his peripheral vision, glancing at him with the slightest hint of worry. She brushed some of her bangs out of her face and turned to look at the shrinking fleet as well, "Your dad'll be fine. They all will."

"It's not him that I'm worried about," Hiccup muttered.

"Then what are you worried about?"

_I don't know, how about everything?_

"Hiccup! Astrid!" Gobber yelled from the steps, "C'mon! It's time to go!"

Astrid's eyes twinkled. She knew what that meant. After fifteen years and a few extra months of waiting, she couldn't contain her elation. "Finally. Come on, Hiccup!"

She ran down the dock toward the ramps, forcing Hiccup to run after her. He could practically feel her smile even as he stared at her back, giddy that after so much waiting and training and anticipation that dragon training was finally here.

He wished that he could run with the same spring in his step as she did.

* * *

Gobber threw his hook-hand into a gap in the huge steel grate blocking off the arena, arching his back and throwing it upward so that it caught itself in the mechanism above it.

"Welcome to dragon training!"

"No turning back," Astrid murmured, parked at the front of the line with Hiccup. The auburn-haired boy had his hand clasped around the pommel of his sword, horribly uncomfortable as he was forced to walk into the arena. A hazy cloud cover had formed over the village, possibly entailing snow later on. It wouldn't be the first time that snow fell earlier than expected.

The six teens walked into the arena ahead of Gobber, each branching out a few steps to examine the Kill Ring. After years of watching the older recruits from the outside, now they were finally _inside._

"I hope I get some serious burns!" Tuffnut said.

"I'm hoping for some mauling, you know, like, on my shoulder, or my back," Ruffnut added.

"Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it," Astrid agreed.

Hiccup scoffed, pointing his eyes at the ground. "Yeah, no kidding, right? Pain, _love it!"_ he drawled, annoyed.

Snotlout knocked Hiccup aside with a light shoulder-check, "Be quiet, Hiccup. Who let you in, anyway?"

Hiccup looked over his shoulder and scowled, about to stand up for himself, but Gobber butted in before any nastiness could break out, "Let's get started! The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing their first dragon in front of the entire village." Gobber made a sudden wrenching motion when he said _killing_ and Hiccup flinched. Luckily, no one bothered to notice.

"Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so, shouldn't that, like, disqualify him?" Snotlout sniggered. The twins laughed cruelly behind him, and the three of them sauntered off closer to the center of the ring

Astrid sidled up beside Hiccup, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't mind him," she offered.

"Yes, don't worry, laddie," Gobber agreed as he approached them, "You're small and weak, so that'll make you less of a target! The dragons'll see you as sick or insane and go after some of the more Viking-like teens." The blacksmith didn't wait for a response, waltzing past the skinny boy.

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Hiccup muttered. Astrid nudged his arm in a brief show of solidarity, and together they padded up beside Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins on the Ingerman lad's other side. Gobber called out to them, silencing any and all conversation.

"Now! Behind these doors are just a few of the many species that you will learn to fight!" Gobber said, strolling to each cage and gesturing as he went.

"_The Deadly Nadder."_

"_Speed eight, armor sixteen,"_ Fishlegs recited like a mantra.

"_The Hideous Zippleback."_

"_Stealth plus eleven, times two."_

"_The Monstrous Nightmare."_

"_Firepower eleven."_

"_The Terrible Terror."_

"_Attack eight, venom twelve."_

"CAN YOU STOP THAT?" Gobber bellowed, annoyed. He reached for the lever on the final cage, "And, the Gronckle."

Unable to resist, Fishlegs leaned over in Hiccup's direction, "Jaw strength eight…" he muttered, all too pleased with himself.

Snotlout stepped forward, noticing Gobber's hand on the release lever, "Wait-wait-wait, aren't you gonna teach us first?"

The other teens stirred in agreement, except for Astrid. She was more than ready, and reached for her axe. Gobber chuckled briefly; this was his favorite part.

"I believe in learning on the job," the blacksmith replied, smirking and revealing his uneven stone tooth.

With a sudden _yank, _Gobber pulled the lever.

* * *

The doors burst open and the ugly round dragon buzzed out, wobbling as if flying for the first time in weeks. It probably _was_ its first time flying in weeks. The six teens scattered, ducking and running from the Gronckle as it bumbled above them, twitching and grunting the whole way.

Astrid whirled around, axe leveled at her side. This was where she thrived, in quick decision-making. She got a good look at the Gronckle and Gobber's words rang in her ears.

"Today is about survival! If you get blasted, _you're dead!"_ Gobber explained. He wasted no time diving into testing them, "Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need?"

"A doctor?" Hiccup asked. Astrid rolled her eyes. _Oh, Hiccup._

"Plus 5 speed?" Fishlegs guessed. This made Astrid roll her eyes even harder. Sometimes, she really _did_ have to do everything.

"A shield," Astrid said. Gods, it couldn't have been more obvious, right?

Gobber approved. "Shields! Go!" he ordered, and everyone raced to a collection of round shields strewn across the stone floor. Somewhere behind her, Astrid heard the Gronckle munching on some rocks. She knew that this particular dragon fueled its fire with them, superheating the stones and regurgitating them back up.

"Your most important piece of equipment is your shield," Gobber instructed, "If you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield."

Astrid grabbed onto her shield and ran back into the action, hearing Gobber declare Ruffnut and Tuffnut out at the same time. Once again, Astrid rolled her eyes. She could already guess how they'd both managed to be eliminated at the same time, and while Astrid liked Ruff well enough most of the time, her inability to avoid fighting with her idiot brother was a real damper on her potential in pretty much all things.

"All dragons have a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronckle have?" Gobber asked.

"Five?"

"No, six!" Fishlegs answered happily. Well, Astrid hadn't known that, so that was something.

"Correct, six!" Gobber said, way too giddy as he grinned like he were having the absolute time of his life, "That's one for each of you!"

Fishlegs' face paled and a Gronckle blast blew the shield out of his hand, ruining the last of the husky teen's pride at being correct and turning it into abject fear.

"Fishlegs, _out."_

Just like that, only three of them were left. The Gronckle still had four shots, so Gobber wasn't totally right. Since the Gronckle had managed to take out the twins with one shot, it could now afford to miss once.

Astrid spotted Hiccup skulking out from behind some boards of wood, only for a wayward blast of fire from the Gronckle to explode against the wall mere inches from him. The explosion was enough to push him back into hiding.

Astrid turned to look back at the Gronckle buzzing toward her, bumping into someone behind her.

"Well, g'morning babe. Did I tell you that you look amazing today, because you do," Snotlout greeted with a sleazy smile. Astrid scowled, refusing to look at the Jorgenson boy and focusing instead on the approaching Gronckle. The idiot behind her kept on, fruitlessly trying to woo her as their supposed-to-be-common enemy buzzed towards them. "So, I moved into my parents' basement. You should come by sometime and work out."

Astrid had tuned him out by the time she dove out of the way. The Gronckle spat a molten rock right at Snotlout, who only managed to see the incoming blast at the last second and raise his shield to protect himself. The fireball hit the corner of his shield, landing with enough force to fling Snotlout back and get him ruled out.

When Astrid resurfaced, she nearly bumped into Hiccup, who had apparently snuck out of hiding.

"Oh, hello, milady. So, I guess it's just you and me," Hiccup said, throwing in a chuckle.

Astrid admittedly smiled, forcing herself to scowl as she refocused on the dragon. Hel damn the boy, he really needed to stop making her smile when she needed to be focused. The Gronckle readied another blast, and Astrid bent her knees to make her move.

"Nope, just you," Astrid corrected and leaped out of the way. Hiccup realized what she meant quickly—far quicker than the others would've, so points in his favor—and raised his shield.

Astrid laughed as she heard the noise of the fireball explode. Hiccup yelped and Astrid whirled around, suddenly sucking in a breath as she took in what she saw. The blast had knocked the shield from Hiccup's grasp. The shield then landed on its rim and rolled perfectly away, and Hiccup chose to chase the shield rather than grab a new one or run to safety. _Of course he did._

"_Hiccup!"_ Astrid and Gobber both yelled, though the blacksmith's heavier voice drowned hers out. The boy kept running after the shield blindly, only catching up to it when it hit the wall of the arena. He grabbed the shield and whirled around only to find the Gronckle right in his face. Hiccup panicked and dropped the shield once again, backing up in fear and falling onto his butt as the Gronckle sniffed him.

The dragon opened its mouth.

_Oh, no._

Gobber arrived and snagged his hook into the dragon's jaw, pulling the beast away just before it could let loose. The resulting fireball missed Hiccup and exploded against the wall.

"And that's six," Gobber said. The Gronckle snarled, trying and failing to tear into the blacksmith as the man's steel hook held fast to its teeth, "Go back to bed, you overgrown sausage!" he snapped, dragging the dragon back to its cage. With practiced ease, he threw the Gronckle back inside its cell and closed the doors with a pull of the lever.

Hiccup was still laying against the wall, eyes wide as he breathed in and out hard.

"Chin up, Hiccup. You'll get another chance, don't you worry," Gobber promised. He looked to the rest of the teens, who had more or less assembled in one spot. "Remember, a dragon will always…" the blacksmith stooped down by Hiccup, focusing all of his attention on the panicked boy, _"always…_ go for the kill."

Gobber stood up again, relaxing, "Alright, you lot, that's all for today. Get on out of here. Don't forget to meet in the Great Hall tonight for dinner. We'll discuss today and I'll have something important to show all of you."

The group of six teens dispersed, save for Astrid and Hiccup. Astrid frowned and walked to him, extending a hand. Hiccup looked up at her, his green eyes twinkling as he met her gaze, and took her hand, allowing himself to be pulled up. Astrid yanked him off of the ground, stopping him from falling forward as he found his footing. She snickered and dropped his hand.

"You okay?"

Hiccup nodded unconvincingly, "I think so. That… that was intense."

"Sorry for jumping away from you. I thought you'd follow or at least be ruled out," Astrid said. Hiccup shook his head, letting her know that he wasn't upset with her.

They walked back towards their houses together and were nearly there when Astrid asked the question, "So, training today?"

Hiccup's eyes flicked up and he paused before shaking his head, "N-no, I don't think so. I-I'd rather take today off to rest. A-and Gobber may need me in the forge."

"Oh, well… okay," Astrid conceded, rather disappointed as she failed to find her words. She'd hoped they would get to it today and they could talk. Hiccup was clearly out of his depth about _something._

Hiccup nodded awkwardly and stammered, "Yeah, yeah, o-okay, I-I'll see you… later," Hiccup said before trotting the rest of the distance to his house alone. He disappeared inside and Astrid released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Her shoulders sagged and she turned to walk to the woods on the other side of the village. Maybe they both needed the day to themselves.

She never heard the back door of the Haddock house swing open, nor Hiccup's quick footsteps as he bolted to the woods behind his home.

* * *

"_So, why didn't you?"_

Hiccup kneeled down by some of the shredded remains of rope, closing his hand around a lone bola ball and hefting it in his hand. The experience replayed in his mind on a loop, as it had been since Gobber had said those words.

_A dragon will always go for the kill._

But the Night Fury hadn't. It had been obviously furious with him—Hiccup wondered if the dragon had figured out that he'd been the one to shoot it down. But it had had him pinned down, there was no way in all of the nine realms that Hiccup would've been able to escape. It had opened its mouth, with two full rows of razor-sharp teeth, but it had spat no fire. No instant, life-ending blaze from its point-blank, sure-kill range. Just an ear-shattering, blood-curdling roar, and then a whoosh of wind as the Night Fury flew away from him.

It didn't make any sense. Dragons were senseless, evil creatures that maimed and stole and killed. They didn't have it in their black hearts to spare people. At least, that's what they were told.

The memory made him think back to the Nadder in the Kill Ring a few months back. Not once when he and Astrid were looking at it was there malice in its eyes, merely curiosity and—well, abject fear of Astrid.

That observation alone seemed to go against everything he'd ever been taught about dragons. It seemed they were capable of emotions other than bloodlust.

Hiccup glanced up, eyeing the path ahead. He wasn't really sure what he wanted to look for, but his curiosity only grew as he stepped down it. He'd never been this far in the woods, and every impulse in his body was telling him to turn back. Defiantly, he stepped carefully over the treacherous path and eventually, his eyes fell on an area of sunken terrain. Quickly scanning the area, he spotted a path between two boulders and dropped in, stepping cautiously through the dark with his eyes fixed on an illuminated opening.

He peered out from the large crevice to see a tranquil cove. A quiet pond covered half of the inlet, and the area was circled by walls of ancient, light gray rock. Several snaggled trees decorated the space in and around the area, and moss colored in many of the rocks sticking out of the ground.

It was beautiful, but there was ultimately nothing here.

"Well, this was stupid…"

Something black and scaly shot up in front of him, frantically scrabbling at the rock. Hiccup scrambled back, nearly falling on his rear as he took in what he was seeing. There, right in front of him was the Night Fury, trying to scale the walls and escape. The dragon released a pitiful roar and gave up, pushing off of the cliff and gliding erratically over the pond to land.

Hiccup inched over the edge, eyes fixed on the dragon. Carefully, he dropped to the next level of rocks, taking the briefest of glances around the cove and then fixing his attention back on the dragon. It took to the air again, flapping its wings wildly but failing to catch the winds and falling back down.

A thought came to Hiccup and he scrambled for his sketchbook. He was probably the first Viking to ever lay eyes on a Night Fury in broad daylight—he had to document it. He grabbed his charcoal pen and scribbled, thoughts coming to him as he sketched the shape. For the first time, he noted the Night Fury's actual size in a non-life-threatening context. Just like he'd thought, the dragon was smaller than most breeds, but based on its body type it was no wonder that the dragon flew so fast.

So why couldn't it fly?

Hiccup took another look at the dragon, "What's the matter? Why don't you just fly away?"

And then he saw the tail. The Night Fury's left tailfin was missing.

Oh. _Oh._ His machine—the Mangler—had done that. Hiccup scrubbed away the fresh charcoal that had drawn up the Night Fury's left tailfin, leaving a dark smudge in its place.

Down below, the Night Fury had failed at flying a second time, landing pitifully by the edge of the lake. A fish flopped above the surface for an instant and the dragon curiously shuffled closer, peering in through the water and snapping at them, unfortunately failing to catch any.

A pang of guilt struck Hiccup's heart. He'd done that; he'd robbed this dragon of its most basic abilities. He slumped on the ledge he was sitting on, failing to realize that the pen was slipping from his grasp before it was too late.

Hiccup reached out to catch the pen, only to bounce it off of his fingers and drop it. The pen tumbled below, catching the sunlight on its way down and hitting the ground with a _click._ When Hiccup looked back up from the pen, the Night Fury was lying there on the shore, staring oddly at him. Its head was cocked ever so slightly, black pupils round and curious. Hiccup dared to think that the dragon _recognized_ him.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

Hiccup was dripping wet when he finally reached the top of the steps. The rain had come in unexpectedly, hitting just in time to drench Hiccup on his way to the Great Hall. Not only was he late, now he was soaked to the skin.

The Great Hall's huge door groaned as Hiccup pushed it open. The Hall was entirely empty except for Gobber and the other teens, so Hiccup trudged towards them as Gobber's voice echoed across the empty room.

"Where did Astrid go wrong today?" Gobber asked.

"I mistimed my somersault dive. It was sloppy. It won't happen again," Astrid answered gruffly.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes, "Yeah, we noticed."

Snotlout quickly dropped in, trying to flirt, "No, no, it was great. That was so _Astrid._"

Hiccup saw Astrid scowl at Snotlout, and he let himself smile slightly. "She's right. You have to be tough on yourself, or else you won't work towards getting any better," Gobber said.

The blacksmith spotted Hiccup walking over and, of course, decided to ask the others where _he_ had gone wrong.

"Uh, he showed up," Ruffnut sneered.

"He didn't get eaten," Tuffnut suggested. Snotlout scooted over to the only remaining seat on the bench and gave Hiccup a dung-eating grin, preventing the scrawny boy from sitting down after he filled his plate. With a roll of his eyes, Hiccup shuffled over to the next table to sit alone.

Gobber dropped the question and changed the subject, "Now that we're all here, it's time for the surprise. To be a truly great dragon fighter, you need to live and breathe this stuff." Gobber said. He raised his hand to reveal a worn book clasped in his grip. Using his hook, he cleared a cluster of empty plates from the table and replaced them with the book, dropping it with a _thump._

"The Dragon Manual: everything we know about every dragon we know of," Gobber explained. Hiccup perked up. A book strictly about dragons? This could be his chance to find information on Night Furies. A clap of thunder pealed outside, loud enough that it was clearly audible inside the Great Hall. Gobber stood up straight, "All right, we'll resume tomorrow. Study up."

"Wait, you mean _read?"_ Tuffnut questioned.

"While we're still _alive?"_ Ruffnut added.

Gobber was already walking away, and he clearly had no intention of dealing with the twins any more than he had to. Snotlout agreed with them, beating his fists on the table in irritation.

"Why should we have to read words when we can just go out and kill the stuff the words tell you about?"

Fishlegs took a very different route, excitedly raving about the book, "I've read it like _seven times!_ There's this water dragon that spits _boiling_ water at your face! And there's another one—"

Tuffnut cut in, waving his hand around until Fishlegs got the message to just shut up. "Yeah, yeah, that's really great. You know, there was a chance I was going to read that."

"But… now…" Ruffnut lamented. Fishlegs pointed his eyes at the floor in dejection.

Astrid looked over at Hiccup, rolling her eyes at him in reference to the others. He smiled, slightly nodding in acknowledgement.

Snotlout stepped off of the bench he was on to leave, "Tell you what: you guys read, _I'll_ go and kill stuff."

The twins quickly followed, not at all interested in the book before them. Fishlegs followed; he'd read the Dragon Manual several times already and there was no need to brush up on his encyclopedic knowledge. Only Astrid stayed seated, watching them go with something like disgust.

Hiccup slid out of his seat, carefully walking over to her. She heard his footsteps and glanced over at him.

"So, uh, I guess we'll… share?" he asked.

Astrid examined him for all of two seconds and smiled, scooting over and gesturing to the seat beside her, "Yeah. I'd like that."

* * *

The fire pits in the Great Hall had been killed when Hiccup walked back with two candles in his hands, approaching where Astrid was seated with the Dragon Manual. She glanced over her shoulder as he reached her, smiling slightly as he set one candle each for them on the table. He slumped onto the bench and Astrid opened the book, a faint crack coming from the tome's old bindings.

"Dragon classifications: Strike Class, Fear Class, Mystery Class," Astrid read aloud and turned to the next page. A wide dragon with a flat body appeared on the parchment, surrounded by runes scrawled out in charcoal.

"_Thunderdrum:_ This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools. When startled, the Thunderdrum releases a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight." Hiccup recited, "Well, that's delightful."

Astrid nodded, "Yeah, wouldn't want to meet one of those at night."

She turned to the next page, reading aloud, "Timberjack: This creature has a slim body with massive, razor-sharp wings that can slice through fully grown trees without slowing down. It has no legs and can support its entire weight with merely the dewclaws underneath its wings. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight."

"Note to self, duck if I ever come across one of those," Hiccup quipped.

Astrid smiled and turned a few pages ahead, allowing Hiccup to read next.

"Scauldron: sprays scalding water at its victims. Extremely dangerous—" a peal of thunder ripped through the doors, startling him. Astrid stifled a giggle, earning an annoyed look from Hiccup that nearly made her outright laugh.

"Changewing: Even newly hatched dragons can spray powerful acid that can melt any material. Kill on sight."

"Gronckle: This dragon is small but tough. Its small wings make it a slow flier. They attack by consuming rocks and melting them in their boiling stomachs, blasting them back out to attack. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight."

"Zippleback: This dragon has two heads, one breathes flammable gas while the other lights it. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight."

Hiccup was really beginning to see a pattern here.

"The Skrill: Generally found in severe thunderstorms, this dragon can channel lightning down its metallic spine and use it as a weapon to electrocute its prey. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight."

"Boneknapper: A nimble, reclusive dragon that collects bones to attach to its body as armor. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight."

"Whispering Death. This dragon dwells in mountains and burrows underground to attack. Its many rows of razor-sharp teeth spin inside its mouth to cut through flesh, bone, and even rock. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight."

Hiccup looked up from the page and turned to Astrid, legitimately horrified by the things he was reading. She met his gaze, but didn't appear as mortified as him. To her, this was merely the way of their world.

But… none of this could be true, could it? The Night Fury had seen him twice now and hadn't tried to kill him. The Nadder in the cage, as far as he could tell, hadn't been interested in killing him.

Astrid turned back to the book and flipped the pages. They took turns reading, and each page seemingly grew more horrible than the last.

_Burns its victims. Buries its victims. Chokes its victims. Turns its victims inside out._

_Extremely dangerous. Extremely dangerous. Extremely dangerous._

_Kill on sight. Kill on sight. Kill on sight. Kill on sight._

And then they came to _that_ page.

It was all but blank, titled at the top but accompanied by no picture or drawing. Only a few short lines of runes adorned the bottom of the page.

"_Night Fury._ Speed unknown. Size unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself," Hiccup read, nearly hushed and forgetting about Astrid's presence entirely. "Never engage this dragon. Your only chance: hide and pray that it does not find you."

Thunder pealed in the distance, but it had no effect on Hiccup this time, merely an accessory to the haunting lack of information about Night Furies. Only Astrid's voice jarred him from his thoughts.

"Hiccup? You there?" Astrid inquired, slapping him on the arm with a clenched fist. Hiccup flinched, blinking a few times as he looked in her direction. "What is with you today? What's with the Night Fury obsession?"

The answer would've been obvious… if she believed he'd really shot one down. No one believed him, and why would they? He had no proof, and he'd released the biggest proof he could ever come up with.

He had to lie. "Oh, I… I just want to learn what I can. I want to be the first to kill one, you know?"

Astrid snorted, "Don't we all?"

"A-and, I'm surprised that this book has nothing on them. It has everything we know about every dragon except one, and there's not even, like, measurements for it, or a picture, or anything!" Hiccup added.

"That probably has something to do with the fact that they never show themselves," Astrid suggested.

"Yeah…" Hiccup groaned.

"Well, that's the whole book." Astrid said, showing with her hands that there were no more pages and slamming the book shut. She moved to stand up, "I'm heading home. Coming?"

"I-I-I'll be out in a few minutes, I'm gonna give this thing another once-over and put it back on the shelf. Gotta study hard, you know?" Hiccup lied.

"That's kind of what Fishlegs is for, but whatever." Astrid said with a snicker. She stood up fully and started to walk away, "I'll see you tomorrow, Hiccup."

Hiccup nodded and Astrid briskly walked towards the door, and he shouted, "Stay dry!" before she could leave. She tugged open the door, groaned at the sound of the pouring rain, and after looking back at him to show her displeasure, made a break for it.

Once the door slammed shut, Hiccup reopened the Dragon Manual to the blank Night Fury page. Carefully, he read over the minuscule amount of information a second time. Tentatively, he reached into his vest to grab his sketchbook, opening it to the page where he'd drawn the Night Fury.

He dropped the open sketchbook onto the blank page, staring at the sketch of the dragon and realizing with a start that he knew more about Night Furies than anyone else in the history of Berk.


	10. Forbidden Friendship

**Thanks again to everyone supporting this story with reviews. You guys rock.**

**Also, these next few chapters are really just kind of going to follow the movie. Apologies for the unoriginality, but we'll get back to our regularly scheduled plot deviation soon. Feel free to skip this chapter entirely because it's really kind of just a novelization.**

* * *

**_10\. Forbidden Friendship_**

"So, Gobber, I happened to notice that the book had nothing on Night Furies. I-is there something else I can read, like a sequel, or another book," Hiccup asked, "Maybe a little Night Fury pamphlet?"

He flashed that trademark Hiccup smile, and in response, a bright beam of fire blasted the blade of his axe off its shaft.

"Focus, Hiccup! Gods, you're not even trying!" Gobber scolded. Hiccup looked up and spotted the big, blue Deadly Nadder balancing on one of the maze's many walls. The dragon hissed and gave chase, hopping nimbly from wall to wall without breaking a sweat. He ran, weaving through the twists and turns and diving around a corner. Up above him, the dragon seemed to lose interest, bounding about in search of the other recruits. Hiccup dropped the axe's useless shaft. He didn't even know why he'd grabbed it and not his shortsword. Probably something to do with impressing Astrid. That had been bone-headed.

Gobber was stationed safely outside the ring, watching his creation play out from above with a smug grin, "Today is all about _attack!_ Nadders are quick and light on their feet; your job is to be quicker and lighter!" He'd built an entire maze that morning before training, getting help from some of the few able hands left behind in the village. The work had been tedious, but the blacksmith hoped that it would be worth it.

Fishlegs scrambled around a corner, running a few feet before the Nadder pounced onto the apex of a wall to his left. With a threatening hiss, the Nadder raised its long tail and a ring of sharp spines extended from the skin, detaching with a swipe of the dragon's tail. Fishlegs screamed in terror, raising his shield and feeling the _thump-thump-thump_ of a few of the spines burying themselves in the wooden block.

"Gobber, I'm really starting to question your teaching methods!" Fishlegs complained as he ran around another corner. The husky boy was practically on the verge of pissing himself with fear.

"Remember to look for its blind spot. Every dragon has one, so find it, hide in it, and strike!" Gobber instructed.

The twins were the ones to test out Gobber's instruction, running together around a corner only to nearly crash into the Nadder. Acting on dumb impulse, Tuffnut stood straight as an arrow, ushering Ruffnut behind him and moving with the Nadder's head movements. Amazingly, thanks to the Nadder's monocular vision, its blind spot happened to be right in front of its face.

This was not enough to satisfy Ruffnut, who had been saddled with the misfortune of smelling Tuffnut's long, greasy blonde hair.

"_Ugh,_ do you ever bathe? You smell like Zippleback dung."

Tuffnut scoffed, "Those are _pheromones,_ sis."

"What, to attract trolls?"

"You don't like it, why don't you get your own blind spot!" Tuffnut hissed, turning on his twin.

"How about I give _you_ one?" Ruffnut snarled back, head-butting her male twin. Their helmets clanged together and the Nadder squawked, finally turning its head and figuring out the twins' position. The blue dragon opened its mouth and spewed a beam of white-hot fire. The twins lunged out of the way just in time and ran, managing to lose the Nadder in the series of twists and turns.

Gobber, who had seen the entire ordeal from above, chortled, "Blind spot, yes. Deaf spot, eh, not so much.

Hiccup ran past behind Fishlegs, glancing up and noticing Gobber. He skidded to a stop, infuriatingly intent on getting his questions answered. "Hey, Gobber, so, ah, how might one sneak up on a Night Fury?"

"No one's ever met one and lived to tell the tale," Gobber answered quickly. Irritation crossed his face, the boy was asking too many Thor-damned questions, _"Now get in there!"_

Hiccup backed away, verbally backpedaling, "I know, I know, but like, hypothetically—"

"_Hiccup."_

Hiccup whirled around, spotting Astrid and Snotlout crouched down by a corner in the maze. Astrid motioned for him to get down while Snotlout brought a finger to his lips. Hiccup did as he was asked, creeping towards them as Astrid peered around the corner. He heard the telltale squawk of the Nadder from around the corner.

Astrid's eyes never left the unseen dragon until she decided the time was right, and she acrobatically dove past the pathway, landing on her shield and expertly pushing herself up, completing the maneuver without so much as a sound. Snotlout followed, and then Hiccup. Surely, if those two could pull that off, so could he, right?

Hiccup dove, sticking his shield out to the ground so that he could push up and complete the rolling maneuver. Unfortunately, he didn't push hard enough on the way up… because of course he didn't.

He fell back pitifully, the shield in his grasp clattering on the stone floor. The Nadder heard him and turned, locking its golden eyes on him and sprinting. Panicked, Hiccup scrambled up and ran. The Nadder skidded around the corner, unable to stop itself on its too-big legs and crashing into a nearby wall. Undeterred, the dragon continued to chase him, crashing into wall after wall in a frantic pursuit.

The maze started to collapse around Hiccup as the Nadder clambered back to the top of the walls and bounded back and forth. Panic set in and Fishlegs came barreling around a corner past Hiccup, probably not even sure where he was going.

That was when he spotted Astrid leaping from wall to wall. How had she even gotten up there?

Just like with the axe, Hiccup quickly decided that it didn't matter… because she was now falling towards him. She'd run out of space to jump and had been forced to return to the ground, and Hiccup was perfectly in her way.

His body cracked as it hit the floor, pinned underneath Astrid. They both flailed awkwardly, each trying to get away from the other as the Deadly Nadder gained its bearings in the wreckage of the maze.

"Ooh, love on the battlefield!" Tuffnut jeered, safely tucked within a mess of splintered wood.

"She can do better." Ruffnut added.

Some bright idea crossed Tuffnut's face, and he added even further, "Actually, she can't!"

The twins both laughed cruelly and Astrid _glared_ at them. A squawk came from the other end of the arena and she looked up, realizing with a jolt that the Nadder was sprinting straight for them. Panicked, she grabbed onto her axe and tugged, finding that it was buried in Hiccup's shield and refused to move.

Hiccup stammered as she tugged, "Hey—why don't you—let me—" until Astrid gave up on pulling the axe free. Her foot landed on his chest, suffocating him for all of two seconds and allowing Astrid to rip her axe _and_ the shield from Hiccup. The Nadder reared up as it closed in, ready as ever to attack.

With a fluid stroke, Astrid smashed the shield into the Nadder's head, splintering the wood beyond repair. The Nadder squawked in pain and staggered away, jerking as stinging pain made its face go numb. The blue dragon limped away after that, its resolve crushed.

"Well done, Astrid." Gobber said from outside the ring, but his praise fell on deaf ears. She glanced down at her axe, ripping a stalk of wood from the blade, and turned on Hiccup.

But her glare softened as she looked down at him, seeing the awe on his face. Astrid rolled her eyes and resorted to grunting at him, "Get up."

Hiccup stood and she immediately punched him on the arm, "That's for getting in the way." Hiccup allowed the faintest of smiles to slip to his face, silently appreciating her surprising restraint. In another life, she might've yelled and screamed at him, using some real choice words or raising her weapon against him.

Gobber appeared at the arena gates, shouting and commanding the six recruits to fall in. "_Arright_, as you can see, not all dragons are slow like the Gronckle. The Deadly Nadder is among the most common dragons you'll find, but it's also fast and, as the name implies, extra deadly."

Gobber glanced at the mess that had been made of the arena, heaps and piles of dark, splintered wood. It had taken him all morning to set up the maze, and just like that his work had effectively been destroyed.

"That's enough for today. We'll all meet for dinner at the tower by the docks tonight. But first, you're all helping me clean this mess up. Come on, chop, chop."

* * *

Hiccup got away as soon as he could. The arena cleanup had sucked, but with seven pairs of hands it hadn't taken terribly long, and he had the entire day ahead of him. Having so few people left in the village allowed him to take loads of time off from the forge, which made it the perfect time to go see the Night Fury.

He found himself creeping into the cove, one arm carrying a shield and his opposite hand holding a fish by its gills. Two large rocks hid him from view, and he threw the fish tentatively away from him onto the ground. The fish landed with a wet _smack_ and Hiccup stayed deathly still, peering over the lip of his shield.

He'd blown off training with Astrid to be here. He hadn't noticed her hurt expression before he dashed off under the pretense of heading home. Once there, he'd grabbed one of the shields off the wall and swiped a fish from the storage basket and hightailed it for the woods, reaching the cove in what felt like mere minutes.

Hiccup blinked, ceasing his staring into space and locking his eyes on the fish once again. Nothing was happening. Of course it wasn't. Stifling a groan, Hiccup inched forward, only for the shield to become caught in between the two rocks. He rolled his eyes and tried to tug it free, but it refused to budge and he ended up crawling under the suspended shield and out into the open. Hiccup reached down and grasped the fish again, sighing as he crept as carefully as he could, eyes searching for the too-familiar black shape.

A chill ran down his spine as he walked, and it took Hiccup a moment to connect the sensation with the feeling of being watched. Scared of what he might find, Hiccup slowly turned around, eyes fixing on a black dragon balancing on a boulder several feet behind him, green eyes trained curiously on him. The Night Fury crept down, inching closer yet keeping its distance as it eyed the fish.

_Food._

"H-Hey there." Hiccup greeted tensely. He stared at the dragon, and the dragon stared at him. Hiccup nervously stuck out his arm to hold the fish a few inches closer to the Night Fury. It seemed to get the message and slowly inched closer.

The Night Fury opened its mouth, reaching closer for the fish, and then suddenly backed away, teeth bared and an angry snarl erupting from its throat.

Hiccup jumped back, spooked by the dragon's sudden anger. The knife at his hip suddenly seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. He gently pulled away the side of his fur vest, reaching for the small blade.

The Night Fury growled, scaring Hiccup's hand away from the knife. How had it known it was there? Hiccup reached again for the weapon, if he didn't get it off of him, the dragon would never come near him. A low growl rumbled from the dragon's throat as Hiccup gently placed his fingertips on the pommel of the knife and slid it from its place on his hip. Teeth clenched nervously, Hiccup dropped the knife on the ground.

The Night Fury jerked its head sideways, gesturing to the lake.

_Oh, come on._

Hiccup lifted the knife with his boot, kicking out to the side and sending the knife hurtling into the lake. The water splashed and the blade sank to the bottom without fanfare.

What happened next was probably the last thing he expected. The Night Fury immediately sat up, narrowed eyes going wide with a curiosity that could only be described as… adorable?

Hiccup gulped and held the fish out again, heart racing. The jet-black dragon crept curiously toward the fish, its nostrils practically vibrating as it took in its scent. Carefully, it opened its mouth, revealing the smooth, pink insides of its mouth.

And no teeth.

"Huh, toothless?" Hiccup wondered aloud. That couldn't be right. He'd seen the dragon's menacing teeth just a second ago, right? "That's weird, I could've sworn that you had—"

Two full rows of teeth flashed into being from the dragon's gums, glinting a pristine white for all of a split second before the dragon snatched the fish and backed up, greedily grinding the food to bits and swallowing it effortlessly.

"Teeth." Hiccup finished. Strange. What purpose could retractable teeth serve? Perhaps the function helped protect the dragon's teeth over time? What was the lifespan of a Night Fury? Human teeth tended to decay in old age if they weren't taken care of. Was the same true of dragons?

Hiccup's mind continued to race as the Night Fury stared at him with narrowed eyes and crept closer.

Wait, that was actually happening.

The dragon warbled _(warbled?)_ as it closed in on Hiccup, curiously sniffing. Hiccup scrambled back but the dragon continued to advance, eventually knocking Hiccup down and back until there was nowhere left to go, his back pressed against a boulder.

"Uh, no, no, no!" Hiccup stammered. The dragon's pupils smoothed and widened, "I'm sorry, I don't have any more!"

The Night Fury warbled again, and its throat repeatedly started to shake, beating like a heart. The dragon's green eyes nearly rolled back in its head and it opened its now-toothless mouth and regurgitated a half-eaten fish right into Hiccup's lap. Hiccup's stomach lurched and he felt a decent amount of saliva suddenly soak through his pants, leaving a sticky sensation on his legs. And the smell, _oh_, the smell. Yuck. It took everything Hiccup had not to vomit out of disgust right there.

The dragon leaned back and sat on its haunches, so obviously yet subtly pleased with itself. Hiccup made eye contact with the Night Fury, finding that it was staring him down with damning expectation. There was no ill will in its expression, instead its stare was blank and so… cryptic.

It glanced down at the fish and then back at him, making the slightest of gestures with its head. Oh, gods, the dragon couldn't possibly want him to eat the fish, could it? _Gross._

But he wanted this dragon to trust him, right? And he wouldn't learn anything if the dragon didn't trust him when he was around. Maybe this was a test. Or maybe it was some sick way of getting back at him. Hiccup had taken its tail, after all. Did the dragon know it had been him?

Hiccup carefully lifted the fish towards his mouth, banking on the hope that this would earn the Night Fury's trust. He forced himself not to breathe in the smell of the regurgitated fish, holding his breath and closing his eyes as he took a bite. The fish was slimy with the dragon's saliva, and it _crunched_ wetly as Hiccup bit into it.

"_Mmph…"_ Hiccup grimaced, holding the chunk of fish there in his mouth. Surely this was enough. He looked back up at the dragon, _"Mm-hmm!"_ he murmured.

The Night Fury licked its lips and gulped, throat bulging with the action.

_Come on._

Well, he was really doing this. This was actually happening.

Hiccup grimaced, mentally preparing himself, and made to swallow, struggling for a second as the slimy fish caught in his throat. He gave it another go, and the food went down, leaving Hiccup with an unsettling, grimy feeling in his mouth and throat.

Weakly, Hiccup smiled, feigning satisfaction. The Night Fury seemed to accept, staring curiously at Hiccup's face before carefully sliding open its mouth, keeping its black lips slightly apart. Its mouth was toothless, and it occurred to Hiccup that the dragon was… smiling? Or at least as well as it could, being a dragon and all.

Maybe this was it. The dragon was imitating him. Surely that indicated trust, right? Determinedly, Hiccup set the fish aside, hoping that the dragon had forgotten about it, and reached his hand up and toward the Night Fury.

The dragon did not appreciate that. Its smile vanished and those white teeth slid out from its gums, a snarl curling out of the Night Fury's throat. The dragon whirled around and lifted off, flying clumsily away towards one of the snarled trees decorating the ancient wall of the cove.

Hiccup's shoulders sagged, but it only took him a few seconds to decide his next course of action.

He was nothing if not persistent. Anyone in the village would say that, along with many other choice descriptions. But this dragon, rumored to be evil and indiscriminate and demonic, had barfed up a fish for him to eat. It hadn't appreciated his attempt at contact, but there was progress. If everything he'd ever been told was to be believed, the Night Fury should've already torn him limb from limb and incinerated his body parts.

And back in the arena, so many weeks ago, that Deadly Nadder had approached him with all the curiosity of a child, without any aim of murder or bodily harm.

What if everything he'd ever been told about dragons was wrong? What if they were really just misunderstood creatures?

Well, one way or another, he was going to earn this dragon's trust.

* * *

The Night Fury landed with an awkward thump on the grass. Boulders and craggy rocks littered its immediate surroundings, providing a sort of natural camouflage. The beast padded on the ground, deeming it satisfactory and opening its mouth to breathe a stream of white-hot fire while walking in a circle. The grass caught fire and the Night Fury crumpled down, stamping out the fires with its weight but keeping the heat generated by them. Its scaly belly pulsed with welcome warmth and the Night Fury laid its head to rest.

The dragon could only close its eyes for a few moments before a bird trilled in the tree above it. Its ears perked up and it spotted the creature, a tiny little bluebird, take to the air and happily fly away. The Night Fury stifled a saddened croon. Lucky creature, able to fly off whenever it wanted. Oh, how the Night Fury missed the open sky.

The Night Fury saw a shape in its peripheral vision and looked over to spot the skinny human. It had followed, sitting down a handful of feet away. The human made some sort of gesture with its skinny arm. A greeting, perhaps? It also did that thing with its mouth again.

The Night Fury snorted with annoyance. He supposed it wasn't the worst that could happen, but that didn't mean it had to like what was happening. Sure, the boy wasn't trying to kill the Night Fury, but he was certainly being annoying. The dragon curled its tail in front of its head, stretching its tail fin to hide the small human's image from view.

Once again, this move only offered a few seconds of peace. The vibrations produced by the human's slight movements were impossible to miss, no matter how stealthy the skinny little thing thought it was being. The dragon instantly lifted its tail, catching the human red-handed in the act of trying to touch it. The boy immediately stood up and walked in the other direction, embarrassment rolling off of him in waves. The Night Fury audibly snorted and stood up. It would find somewhere else to sleep, somewhere that the human could not reach it.

* * *

The sun was setting. Hiccup had lost track of how many hours he'd been in this cove, but he also didn't care. He knew he needed to leave soon, though. He didn't want to be late for dinner with the others.

What a waste of a day. He'd gotten nothing from the dragon besides a grimy bite of fish and a few aggressive snarls.

With only a few more minutes to spare, Hiccup had taken to drawing in the dirt. He'd found an excellent stick that was long enough for him to simply sit back on the rounded rock beneath him and reach out to draw with practiced skill. At least he could use his time productively. He decided to draw the Night Fury. After all, he'd gotten plenty of looks at the jet-black dragon today. Its image was forever burned into his memory.

He had barely finished drawing the dragon's frame when the shadow cast itself over him and he felt the unusual warmth at his side. Hiccup glanced up, the Night Fury's form towering over him. What the…? What was it doing over here? The beast had been sleeping for a few hours now, hanging down from the branch of a tree like an enormous bat.

Hiccup stared emotionlessly at his drawing, glanced back to the dragon, and shrugged. He went to work on the details. Maybe the dragon was interested in what he was doing. Hiccup drew the dragon's oval-shaped eyes, making sure to add the slit-like pupils, and fashioned a few more quick details.

The dragon stared at the drawing curiously, perplexing Hiccup. Did it understand that the drawing was of itself? Then, as soon as it had showed up, the Night Fury stood up on its hind legs and stamped away. Hiccup grunted to himself and looked back to his drawing for a few seconds before the audible crack of a tree branch breaking off rattled his ears. Half-jumping, Hiccup looked back and the Night Fury bounded over to him, holding a huge branch between its jaws. It wobbled occasionally from the weight, apparently not yet having found the right balance between the wooden limb.

The Night Fury stumbled as it drove one end of the branch into the ground, drawing a line into the dirt. The beast kept going, drawing and drawing and stumbling so that it drew a cluster of squiggly lines that overlapped each other countless times. Once the Night Fury was apparently satisfied, it dropped the branch to the side and sat back on its hind legs, examining its work with an approving warble.

Hiccup looked around at the prison of aimlessly-drawn squiggles that now boxed him in. He stifled a laugh—crazy dragon—and started to walk away.

The dragon snarled at Hiccup and he jumped. Was it something he said? He looked down, noticing that his foot was on one of the lines the dragon had drawn into the dirt. He lifted his foot off the line and the dragon pacified.

Huh. Interesting.

Hiccup pressed his foot on the line again and the dragon snarled. Then he lifted his foot, and the dragon calmed. Down. Up. Down. Up.

And then _past_ the line, into an empty space that had been formed by the crisscrossing lines. The dragon didn't react, merely watching curiously. So, that was the game. Understanding things now, Hiccup focused on the ground and stepped back and forth, feeling himself turn countless times over. He kept going, eyes flicking to the next open space and placing his foot there as he worked his way out of the dragon's little maze.

He realized that he was done when a warm breath of air breezed against the back of his neck. That telling shadow cast over him again. Hiccup turned, looking up at the Night Fury. It tilted its head in what must've been… approval? Hiccup's chest warmed and his mind gave him only one response.

Carefully, he reached back up for the Night Fury.

The dragon flinched, turning its head away and narrowing one of its eyes as the faintest hint of its white teeth showed themselves. Hiccup let his hand drop, but his resolve wasn't broken. He _had_ to know. He'd spent all day in this cove. The dragon had given him part of its meal in a gesture of goodwill. It hadn't even remotely tried to harm him. The only thing it wouldn't do was allow itself to be touched. But he _had_ to know if it would. He didn't even know what he was doing, beyond the fact that what he was trying to accomplish was likely treason of the highest order.

But he _had_ to know.

So, Hiccup turned his head to the ground, shutting his eyes tight and blindly reaching his arm out in the dragon's direction. If the dragon trusted him, maybe this would work. He felt a breath of warm air on his fingertips, and then a pause as he reached his arm as far out as it would possibly go.

A pause.

And then warm scales.

A shiver like Hiccup had never felt before ran down his spine. He opened his eyes and looked so that he could be sure he wasn't insane, and found that he wasn't. The Night Fury had met him halfway, touching its snout to his hand.

As soon as it had started, it was over. The Night Fury opened its wide eyes and inched back. It shook its head and its eyes narrowed, and a snort that must've said something along the lines of _'that meant nothing'_ escaped its throat. The dragon ran off from there, its footfalls light and quick.

Hiccup stared at his hand in awe.

It meant something.

By Thor, it meant something.

* * *

"An' then, he took my hand, ripped it clean off, and swallowed it whole!" Gobber regaled, taking a moment to bite into the leg of chicken that had been mounted where his hand used to be, "An' I saw the look on his face: I was delicious! He must've passed the word because it wasn't a month before another one o' them took my leg!"

The other teens were amused, though Hiccup and Astrid were not. They'd both heard the story many times before, and Gobber usually embellished it a little more each time. Sure, dragons took one of his hands and one of his legs. Right about now, Hiccup was having difficulty believing that any dragon actually _ate_ those limbs rather than ripped them off when they were fighting back.

They'd been up here for half an hour and the food was finally ready. Each member of the group had a cooked fish attached to a stick, while Gobber had taken the _honor_ of swiping the only piece of chicken he'd brought up to the tower.

Fishlegs going on some weird tangent caught Hiccup and Astrid's attention. The husky boy rambled, "Isn't it weird to think that your hand was inside of a dragon? A-and what if your mind were still in control of it? Maybe you could've killed that dragon from the inside, by like, crushing its heart or something."

Fishlegs quieted as he realized that everyone was staring at him in confused shock. Well, everyone except for Gobber, who was happily chewing on his chicken and hardly listening.

"I swear, I'm so _angry_ right now." Snotlout snarled, his knuckles white as he gripped the stick with his food as hard as possible, "After I win training, I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot. I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight—with my _face."_

Gobber didn't seem too affected by Snotlout's outburst, slurping down another bite of chicken and contradicting the Jorgenson, "Mm, no, it's the wings and the tail that ya really want. If a dragon can't fly, it can't get away. A_ downed _dragon is a _dead _dragon"

Those words echoed in Hiccup's head. The Night Fury in the cove was missing one of its tailfins, and as a result could not fly. If it stayed there, eventually _someone_ would find it, and then it wouldn't be able to escape. He doubted that the dragon would have a tough time with one Viking, but with a horde of Vikings, each of them thirsty for the blood of the rarest dragon of all?

He had to do something to prevent that from ever happening. He couldn't allow the Night Fury to die. Not when it was opening up to him, when it was showing him things that he'd never thought possible.

He knew what he was going to do.

Astrid didn't notice the lack of warmth at her side for a few seconds. Hiccup had been sitting next to her, quiet as could be. It had been unnerving to her, but she hadn't dared to break the silence that fell upon them after a simple _'hey'_ that they'd shared in greeting when he'd arrived.

And then Hiccup had disappeared from her side, quiet as ever and leaving his food behind. Astrid's brow cocked and she stood up from her side, walking to the ramp leading down the tower as she heard the faint thump of Hiccup's feet carrying him down.

She only got a glimpse of his auburn hair before he was out of sight, and it perplexed her to no end. Why would he just take off?

"Astrid." Gobber said, beckoning her back to her seat.

It took everything Astrid had not to snarl when Gobber didn't wonder where Hiccup was. No one else did, either.

They cared that she was present, but not that he was.

* * *

Hiccup slipped into the forge as he had done countless times before. He lit a candle as he walked into his workshop, grabbing the first charcoal pen he could find and half-falling into the chair at his desk.

He ripped open his journal, flipping through page after page until he found his sketch of the Night Fury. One side of its tail was marred with a smudge, Hiccup's best job at erasing the tailfin that no longer existed.

With a quick yet careful hand, Hiccup drew the tailfin back into place, exhaling carefully as he examined the sketch. It wouldn't be easy to build a prosthetic tailfin, he'd need to find a usable material, probably leather. That was easy enough to get scraps of.

On top of that, though, he wasn't even sure how he would get it to work. Hiccup quickly decided that it didn't matter. He would cross that bridge when he came to it. What mattered right now was that he gave the Night Fury the basic means to fly once again.

Hiccup threw open a drawer and grabbed a long roll of blank parchment. It was time to draw up some schematics.


	11. Trial and Error

**Posting this early because I want to hurry up and get to the meat of the story. Since we're following the movie's timeline, I feel I'm obligated for now to help you guys read what you want to read instead of the novelization of HTTYD1 that's persisting through some of these chapters.**

**Section 1 is entirely new. Section 3 carries a very minor change, and section 4 adds a small amount of character stuff for Stoick and depth to the overall very short scene.**

**Chapter 12, which I will post by tomorrow (and maybe even later today if I feel like it. I'm as impatient as any of you might be right now), will have more original stuff, and then with Chapter 13 we will return to deviating from the movie and should be staying that way for the rest of the story.**

**Sorry for the inconveniencing. I would ask that you guys review the first section of this chapter at least, because personally I like it and I'd love to hear feedback on it. Otherwise, thanks to all who are reviewing elsewhere. Your feedback is both heard and appreciated.**

* * *

**_11\. Trial and Error_**

The next morning, dragon training brought them back to the Gronckle. Snotlout and the twins had groaned that they'd already seen that dragon, but Gobber had shut them down and explained that once was not nearly enough to learn how to fight a certain species of dragon. To become experts at dragon fighting, repetition was key, and if they wanted to learn to fight against the big boys, they'd have to survive the little ones first.

And so they had dove headlong into another scrum with the Gronckle, a handful of wooden barriers scattered across the arena to be used as cover. The small, tough dragon had buzzed back and forth across the ring, conserving its shots this time as it examined its teenage foes.

Snotlout had been the first one to engage, intending to impress Astrid. The boisterous teen had rambled on about something along the lines of rescuing Astrid from her unfortunate engagement to Hiccup. How Snotlout had even connected those dots, Hiccup wasn't sure, but there he'd gone to engage the Gronckle, yelling and rearing his arm back to sling his hammer.

The dragon had scrutinized him for a moment and easily dodged his hammer throw before snarling and loosing a ball of molten rock in response. Snotlout had raised his shield to block the blast, succeeding until he peered over the wooden rim. The Gronckle chose to charge headfirst next rather than waste another shot, and there was a sound of splintering wood as the small dragon crashed into Snotlout's shield and easily knocked the boy away.

The action had managed to wake Hiccup up from his stupor, for he'd nearly fallen asleep standing up until then. He'd been up all night in the forge, constructing the prosthetic tailfin for the Night Fury.

In that time, he'd also realized that it wasn't exactly prudent to keep referring to his new friend as 'the dragon' or 'the Night Fury', so he'd devoted a few moments to coming up with a name, thinking constantly about something distinguishing about the dragon in his search for the perfect moniker.

When _Toothless_ had come to him, he'd almost laughed at the sheer perfection of it. Hiccup had worked with a purpose after that, making sure to be as quiet as possible even with his hammer strikes. It wasn't the first time that he'd worked in the forge late at night when the village slept, but that didn't stop him from being constantly on guard and extra careful. He had no idea how he would explain himself out of this one.

The prosthetic had been completed in the wee hours of the morning, and instead of walking home after hiding the invention in his workshop, he'd slumped down into his chair and used his desk as a pillow. Luckily, Gobber had come through the forge that morning and roused him, so he hadn't slept through training. He didn't know how much (or more accurately, how little) sleep he'd managed to get, and he also didn't want to think about it. Some things were better off unknown, such as his friendship with Toothless.

"Hiccup!" Astrid's voice roused him again. She shoved him in the shoulder and he fell, slumping across the ground as a molten rock flew past him overhead. The Gronckle didn't seem to care that it had missed and continued flying around, buzzing and snorting and grunting as it went. Hiccup crawled behind the nearest barrier and he was quickly joined by Astrid. They sat up against the barrier, their backs pressed into the wood. Astrid quickly checked behind her, getting an eye on the dragon.

"You okay?" she asked, leering at the dragon.

"Yeah. Thanks." Hiccup grunted, rubbing his elbow as she looked the other way.

"You missed the end of dinner last night. What was that about?" Astrid asked when she turned back, giving him this look that he knew meant he wasn't dodging her question this time.

Thor. Astrid _would_ be the one to ask him about that. "Oh, uh, you know, I just remembered that I had left some things at the forge and I didn't want to forget to go by there." Hiccup lied.

Astrid narrowed her eyes. Somewhere on the other side of the ring, Hiccup heard Fishlegs yell in terror.

"You don't have to lie to me, Hiccup." Astrid insisted, "Whatever it is, you can talk to me about it."

Oh, sure, she might think that, but Hiccup knew that if he _did_ tell her the absolute truth that she would never speak to him again. And that would be if he was lucky. If he was unlucky, as he usually was, Astrid might go ahead and take care of executing him right then and there.

"It's not a lie. I-I've been thinking about, ah, modifying my sword, and, maybe putting together a training outfit." Hiccup assured her. Astrid scrutinized him even harder, so Hiccup rambled and began adding to the lie, "You know, some leather padding, maybe some slots where I can carry a couple of knives?"

"A training outfit?" Astrid repeated, a disbelieving look on her face. Hiccup gulped, he really couldn't think of anything else on the fly, at least not anything with details that might sound true. Fortunately for him, a smile was tugging at Astrid lips, as if she were trying to picture him in a series of absurd getups for dragon training.

"Y-yeah." Hiccup said, "I-it's in a rough stage right now, all I managed to do was draw up some plans, and I'm going to spend a lot of time revising it, but… yeah. That-that's why I left early."

Astrid looked back behind them again, eyeing the Gronckle. The dragon's back was turned to them and it was vigorously scratching an apparent itch on the side of its head. Eager, she turned back to Hiccup, "Okay, follow my lead. We're taking this thing down."

Hiccup stammered, "Oh, uh, o-okay, I don't—wait…"

Astrid had already leaped over the barrier and Hiccup had no choice but to follow. Astrid crept silently, amazingly avoiding the ears of the Gronckle. Apparently the Gronckle's blind spot was directly behind it. Now that Hiccup thought about it, wouldn't most dragons' blind spots be directly behind them? Nadders were an exception because of their monocular vision. That might be something to think about.

Astrid looked to Hiccup and motioned for him to bang on his shield with his sword, immediately gesturing after for him to wait until she was ready. Next, she started creeping to the Gronckle's side, diving into hiding as the Gronckle looked in her direction. The small dragon growled, suspicious, and Astrid frantically signaled for Hiccup to begin.

Hiccup bashed his sword against his shield, causing a sudden racket. The Gronckle whirled around, completely forgetting about Astrid and glaring at Hiccup.

"Hey, ugly! You, uh… you want some of this?" Hiccup taunted. He briefly glanced at Astrid and saw her roll her eyes in amusement, but the Gronckle took the bait, parting its jaws and firing a ball of smelted rock. "Ah!" Hiccup yelped as he brought up his shield, dropping back a few steps from the impact.

With the Gronckle distracted, and Astrid now in its blind spot, the warrior woman quickly stepped onto the top of a barrier beside her and leaped, swinging her axe back and yelling. She was too fast for the Gronckle to turn, and with the perfect opening, Astrid hooked the curve of her axe blade around the small dragon's neck. The Gronckle thrashed, but her weight brought the dragon down to the ground. Grinning madly, she placed her foot against the Gronckle's head, pushing it into the ground to hold the dragon still.

"Well _done,_ Astrid! And you, Hiccup!" Gobber praised. The blacksmith was actually grinning as he wobbled over. He swung his hook in the air, signaling that the exercise was over so that the other teens would come out of hiding.

The twins emerged first, squabbling with each other about the other being too slow to come up with a plan. Snotlout and Fishlegs were next, hiding on opposite ends of the arena. Gobber reached Astrid and the Gronckle and gestured for her to step off of the dragon, where he quickly replaced the pressure by grabbing the Gronckle by its teeth with his hook-hand. The tough dragon snarled and tried to chew on the stubborn metal, and with practiced ease Gobber dragged the beast back to its pen and locked up.

"Now—pay attention, you can all learn something from Hiccup and Astrid."

"Wait, but Hiccup didn't even do anything!" Snotlout complained.

"Not true." Gobber replied, "He distracted the dragon by making noise and getting its attention. That allowed Astrid to attack the dragon and incapacitate it. In a raid situation, such tactics can be invaluable, _Snotlout._"

Tuffnut sniggered, "Heh-heh, yeah, _Snotlout."_ Snotlout glared at the male Thorston.

Gobber waved his hand at the six teens, shooing them. "Now, lesson's over. Git out o' here."

* * *

"Hey, Toothless!" Hiccup singsonged. The big, black dragon lifted its head, eyes sliding open as it woke and widening curiously as they fell on Hiccup. The boy was carrying a large burlap sack full of fish, and he'd actually been impressed with the fact that he'd come all the way to the cove without having to set the weight down once.

"Sorry I'm late. I brought breakfast!" Hiccup declared, setting the sack down and kicking it over. The top opened and several fish spilled out, just a few of the many stashed inside. Intrigued, Toothless approached the pile of fish, nostrils expanding and narrowing repeatedly. "Oooookay, that's disgusting. Alright, c'mon, eat up. We've got some salmon, some nice Icelandic cod, oh, and I think there's a whole smoked eel somewhere in here—"

Toothless suddenly backed up, baring his teeth at the pile of fish and growling. Puzzled, Hiccup reached into the pile, following Toothless' eyes and grabbing the long eel. When Hiccup pulled it up, Toothless reared back and roared, apparently spooked by the creature.

"Oh! No, no, I'm sorry!" Hiccup stammered. He promptly threw the eel to the side and Toothless calmed. _Interesting. Dragons don't like eels…_ Hiccup thought before looking back up to Toothless, "Yeah, I'm not really a big eel guy myself. Sorry about that, bud. We should be okay now."

Toothless licked his lips and crept anew toward the sack full of fish. Hiccup casually walked out of the dragon's sight, sliding the prosthetic tailfin out from under his shoulder. Toothless greedily slinked forward and scarfed down handfuls of fish, eating quickly and indiscriminately. Hiccup crept to the black dragon's tail, carefully sitting down on it and going to work attaching the prosthetic. Toothless failed to notice, or at least didn't care—he was very much preoccupied.

Strapping on the prosthetic was easy enough.

The hard part was when Toothless spread his wings a few moments later and took off.

"_WOAH!"_ Hiccup yelled as he latched onto Toothless' tail as tightly as he could. The dragon's wings beat repeatedly through the air, generating lift and bringing Toothless and Hiccup up.

Only a few seconds later, the prosthetic fin shrank as a result of the wind, thinning and ruining all of the momentum that Toothless had gained. The Night Fury groaned as he dropped, and Hiccup quickly reached out and opened the fin as much as it would go. Feeling the change, Toothless pulled up again. They flew out of the cove and Hiccup tilted Toothless' entire tail to the left, forcing the dragon to turn back.

Wind whipped through Hiccup's hair and made his skin tingle. "It's working! It's really working!" he hollered. He and Toothless swooped back into the cove and Hiccup let the tail return to its normal position and Toothless began flying straight again, zooming above the lake.

"I did it! Yes!" Hiccup whooped again. This time, Toothless heard him, apparently having been so enthralled with flying that he hadn't noticed the boy's presence. The Night Fury growled and whipped around, doing a complete 180 and sending Hiccup flying towards the water. What Toothless hadn't counted on was that by doing that, he was cutting any control he'd had in-flight.

Hiccup skipped across the lake's surface and Toothless plummeted, making a huge splash as he crashed. Hiccup thrashed, fighting his way back to the surface and practically jumped out of the water, arms thrust in the air as he hollered in triumph.

"Yeah!"

* * *

As soon as the doors were open, a bomb of green gas exploded in the arena, spilling a foul-smelling and explosive mist over the recruits. Each held a bucket of water in two hands, and most of them braced back a step or two as the faintest outline of some inhuman beast slinked out of the cage and blended into the gas.

"Today is about teamwork." Gobber announced, "Remember: a wet dragon head can't light its flame. The Hideous Zippleback is _extra_ tricky. One head _breathes_ gas, the other head _lights_ it. Your job will be to know which is which, _heh-heh._"

Hiccup had been paired with Fishlegs, Astrid with Ruffnut, and Snotlout with Tuffnut. Each pair stood back-to-back as sharp green gas filled the ring, adding more and more ground to the loose Zippleback's territory. It would be impossible to see the dragon now if one was more than a few feet from it.

Snotlout started to boast, warning the dragon to stay hidden while also endorsing his own talents. "If that dragon shows either of its faces, I'll tear its teeth out."

Tuffnut cackled and agreed. Moving as one with the male Thorston, Snotlout spotted a unique outline in the gas. "There!" he shouted, readying his bucket and launching the water without a second thought.

There was a rather feminine yelp and the water dispersed some of the gas, revealing the figures to be Ruffnut and Astrid.

"Hey! It's us, idiots!" Ruffnut scowled.

"Huh. Your butts must be getting bigger." Tuffnut theorized, "We thought you were a dragon."

Snotlout nodded agreeably, "Yeah. N-Not that there's anything wrong with a… _dragonesque_ figure."

Astrid was surging towards Snotlout and the brash Jorgenson wiggled his eyebrows, entirely misinterpreting her approach, "Well, hello…"

Astrid sucker-punched him in the jaw, knocking Snotlout's head a perfect ninety degrees. Hiccup and Fishlegs both stifled a laugh, covering their mouths almost identically. Tuffnut laughed out loud, only for Ruffnut to sling her full bucket of water at him and hit him straight in the forehead. Grunting in surprised pain, the male Thorston twin promptly fell on his back, groggily lifting his head off the ground before _something_ latched onto the collar of his shirt and dragged him into the cloud of gas.

The elation and satisfaction passing to four of the recruits instantly shifted into horror as Tuffnut screamed. Astrid staggered back, reaching again for her bucket and quickly regaining her readied stance. Snotlout scrambled away from the gas, struggling to find his footing, when Tuffnut came sprinting wildly out of the gas.

"Oh! _Oh!_ I am very much hurt!" Tuffnut declared. He scampered away and fell down on his butt, rambling boisterously. "That thing—it almost ate me! B-but I gave it a good punch, right in the jaw, scared it off! I swear! Man, you guys are lucky!"

Hiccup and Fishlegs turned their attentions back to the gas, fear creeping into their bloodstreams. "Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now…" Fishlegs declared dejectedly.

The gas suddenly seemed to hiss and a Zippleback head slinked out of the green haze, attached to a long neck with bonelike plates down its spine. Large yellow eyes and two rows of sharp, venom-packed teeth glinted in the sunlight and the head snaked towards Fishlegs. The husky boy yelped and staggered back a step before he remembered his bucket, and he promptly doused the head in water.

The Zippleback head flinched and then opened its mouth, releasing a decidedly unhealthy amount of toxic gas from its throat.

"Heh. Oops… wrong head…" Fishlegs lamented. He smiled at the dragon, apparently hoping that it wouldn't hurt him. The Zippleback head felt differently, it seemed, and it suddenly unleashed a thick jet of gas on the husky boy, frightening him.

"Fishlegs!" Gobber shouted. The boy turned tail and ran, escaping the fumes. Another identical head appeared from the gas, followed by the dragon's oddly-built body, and approached Hiccup, spitting volatile sparks that threatened to catch the gas around Hiccup and light it aflame.

"Hiccup, now! Get 'im!" Gobber insisted. Hiccup tensed and stepped forward, bringing back the bucket and slinging it at an upward angle. The water shot out of the bucket and caught the head spouting sparks, sufficiently dousing it and shutting down its ability to light the gas.

"Great work, Hiccup!" Gobber praised, but Hiccup wasn't finished.

"Yeah! You like that?" Hiccup boasted. He stepped forward imposingly, bringing his hands up and shoving his hands at the air. The Zippleback hissed and backed up, intimidated by Hiccup's sudden moves. It couldn't light its flame and fight back, and the boy was very much not afraid of the two-headed Fear Class dragon.

"Yeah, that's right! Back! Back! Get back there in your cage, you heard me!" Hiccup ordered, continuing to back the dragon towards its cell. Once the Zippleback was ducking back into the pen, he pulled open his fur vest, reaching for the day-old smoked eel that had been mixed in with Toothless' fish, "And while you're in there, think about what you've done…" Hiccup said, sliding the eel from the vest pocket and slinging it into the pen. The Zippleback backed away at the sight of the striated creature, hissing terribly and backing away even more.

Hiccup promptly closed the doors himself, pulling the lever to lock the pen and dusting off his vest before looking up and realizing that everyone had been watching him. He'd forgotten about them in his moment of power over the dragon. Fishlegs dropped his empty bucket and it clattered to the stone floor, utter shock written on the husky boy's face as well as everyone else's. Even Gobber was flabbergasted.

"O-okay, so, ah, are we done? Because I've got some things that I need to—uh, yeah. I-I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Hiccup said, awkwardly heading out of the arena. He felt the stares of the others at his back as he went, and he bit his tongue once he was out of their sight.

He hoped that wouldn't come back to bite him.

* * *

The sea was choppy, the waves twisted and tangled with each other as they rippled in every possible direction. A longship cut through the surf, followed by about a half-dozen identical models close at heel. The vessel was made entirely of wood, with a distinct, rounded figurehead at the bow forming the head of a dragon.

The sails of every ship were uniquely painted, though they all bore an image of some sort of dragon in the process of being killed. Some sails depicted swords stabbing through the bellies of the beasts, while others showed axes, and others still displayed dragons being impaled by spears.

After days at sea, the Hooligan expedition was at last approaching its destination.

Stoick eyed the enormous wall of fog, the entrance to the uncharted region known as Helheim's Gate. The vestiges of some especially tall sea stacks peered out from the top of the foggy expanse of sea, thick and rocky and somehow adding to the area's eerie tone. Somewhere in that haze was the rumored home of the dragons, the scourge of Berk and all of their neighbors alike.

It had been Stoick's lifelong mission to find the nest, ever since his wife was taken from him and he was left alone to raise their son. They'd been happy, the proud new parents of the next heir to Berk. And then, just months after giving birth to their boy, a Stormcutter had set fire to his home and snatched his wife, carrying her off into the night never to be seen again.

Stoick never saw that particular breed of dragon again, so his desire for direct revenge never materialized. Instead, he'd turned to tirelessly seeking the dragons' home. He'd put together countless expeditions over the last 15 or so years, though not one had ever been successful. The Chief was boar-headed and stubborn to a critical fault, however. No failure ever quelled his quest for vengeance.

No matter how long it took, Stoick would always keep trying, for his late wife and for his son. So that his people could potentially live in a world free from the scourge of dragons.

It was time to try again.

"Take us in." Stoick ordered. The helmsman at the back of the ship steered the ship towards the fog. "Hard to port, for Helheim's Gate."

"_Hard to port! Hard to port!"_ the call went up, passing through the fleet. Ship after ship turned after the head vessel, slowly but surely following them into the haze of Helheim's Gate.


	12. To Be a Dragon

**This is the last chapter that really borrows from the movie. The last third of this chapter covers Hiccup and Toothless' first flight, but the rest of it is more or less original. You'll get to see some tension between Astrid and Hiccup, too, as Hiccup's lies and secrets continue to build up.**

* * *

**_12\. To Be a Dragon_**

Hiccup spent the next several days in a near-constant routine. He made sure to see Toothless every single day, and as boy and dragon grew closer, Hiccup learned more about dragons than he ever would've imagined. When night fell and he was finished with dinner, Hiccup holed up inside the forge and worked on Toothless' prosthetics.

By now, Toothless trusted him enough to allow Hiccup on his back. He'd built a saddle, which had been a blast to try and latch onto Toothless. The Night Fury had put on quite the game of chase to avoid having the leather contraption placed on him, but once it was on, Toothless seemed to accept it.

As for the tailfin, a lot had changed from the original design. It had quickly occurred to Hiccup that Toothless' tailfins adjusted back and forth between flight, and it wouldn't work to just have the prosthetic stay completely open at all times. His second design had involved a rope that he used to pull and push the tailfin open and closed, but that had only partially worked. It wasn't sustainable for free flying, and it honestly hurt Hiccup's shoulder.

The third design had become infinitely more complex and was taking much longer to build. The leather fin had been reinforced with multiple metal rods, and a multifaceted system of gears and pulleys had been set up to control the fin's position through a pedal in Hiccup's left stirrup. If things went well, Hiccup and Toothless would be able to fly freely, though the dragon would always need him in order to fly.

And that wasn't the only thing he'd learned. The more time he spent with Toothless, the more tricks Hiccup learned about dragons. Eels weren't the only weakness that they had, he'd found. By petting and scratching Toothless, Hiccup had discovered a sweet spot under dragons' necks that were extra sensitive and could bring them down peacefully with a simple pinch. By using his hammer to catch the sunlight, Hiccup had found that dragons sometimes liked to chase moving lights. And in a crash-landing involving the second iteration of Toothless' prosthetic fin, Hiccup had discovered a strain of grass that dragons were especially fond of.

Using these tricks along with his previously improved skills, Hiccup had become Astrid's only real competition at the top of the dragon training class. He'd brought down the Deadly Nadder with the neck-pinching trick and neutralized a Gronckle with a handful of that special grass. He'd even gotten the better of the Terrible Terror—who had previously made short work of Tuffnut despite being about six inches tall—by distracting it with reflected sunlight and leading it back to its pen.

His secret activities, however, had brought some difficulties of their own. Astrid came around the forge often, and he'd had to hide his secret projects exceptionally well to keep her from discovering his work. He'd never be able to get out of it if she found them. He could see in her eyes that she was growing frustrated with him, and it hurt him, but he couldn't spill his secret no matter how much he wanted to. The consequences would be severe.

Astrid insisted that she was proud of Hiccup, but he'd robbed her of more than a few victories in training and he saw that it had an effect on her. It was a point of contention in Hiccup's head; he knew that it wasn't right to keep tricking people like this. Gods, he wasn't even fighting the dragons the vast majority of the time. But still his legend continued to grow around the village. Villagers were showing up to_ watch_ dragon training, and they'd cheer for him and congratulate him on his successes.

It also didn't help that he'd blown off a lot of training sessions with Astrid to visit Toothless. He'd been seeing less and less of her more recently, and she'd become a bit more standoffish in some of their interactions. It puzzled Hiccup to no end. She'd been training on her own for years, why would she get so bent out of shape going back to that?

Hiccup sighed as he watched Berk from the safety of the forest's edge, his thoughts swirling around him like a maelstrom. He needed to focus. He had a lot to think about, but first he needed to finish his work. He just had a few more plans to carry out, and once he proved that Toothless could fly again, he'd try to tackle this moral dilemma.

* * *

Hiccup rifled through the forge's drawers and cabinets. He tried to work as quietly as possible; night had fallen and some of his fellow Vikings were still skulking around the streets, hopefully headed to bed. One of the Berkians left behind on the island, Sheepface, had passed by Hiccup with a torch and greeted him, narrowly missing Toothless. The Night Fury had been behind him up against the side of the house, and almost chased after Sheepface out of sheer curiosity. Fortunately, Hiccup had been able to steer the dragon away and they'd snuck over to the forge to get the things they needed. The latest tailfin was nearly complete.

He wasn't sure why he'd brought Toothless to the village tonight. In hindsight, it was a very, very bad idea. All he needed was a few tools to perform maintenance on the tailfin before they tested it tomorrow. Maybe his brain had decided taking major risks was how they did things now.

He'd all but finished his work and was carefully examining the tailfin when Toothless knocked over a pile of armor plating and scrap metal onto the floor. The steel pieces clattered noisily against one another, tumbling to the ground and startling the Night Fury as well as Hiccup.

"Oh, Toothless!" Hiccup hissed, "Can't you just stay still for two minutes?"

Hiccup stooped down and started to pick up the armor parts so that he could cluster them together again. Gobber would _not_ be happy if he walked into the forge tomorrow and found metal strewn all over the place. Moreover, he would wonder how it had happened, and that was another risk that Hiccup didn't want to take.

The dragon warbled apologetically as Hiccup stacked the steel back into place. He sent the Night Fury a cross look from the corner of her eye, though he couldn't be sure Toothless noticed. He imagined Gobber asking what in the world had happened, failing to notice the goosebumps slithering up his back until an all-too

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked warily. Hiccup stiffened and cursed under his breath. Of course, _of course_ Astrid had been walking near the forge at the exact moment that his pet dragon had made a loud, noisy mess of things.

Hiccup stood up, hoping that the stack of metal would stay together, and gestured to Toothless. "Okay, bud, I'm gonna ward her off. Stay put, you hear me? _Stay put."_

Toothless rolled his eyes at the boy and relented. Hiccup briefly wondered if this was what it was like for others telling _him _to do something, and shook the thought out of his head with a deep breath. He vaulted out through the forge window, throwing open the revolving boards covering it to slide outside the smithy. Sure enough, there was Astrid, startled only for a moment as she recognized him.

"Astrid!" Hiccup greeted nervously, "Hi Astrid, hi Astrid, hi Astrid—ah, what are you doing here?"

"Headed home. We missed you again tonight," Astrid said. She crossed her arms, silently accusatory.

"Oh, y-yeah, I forgot about dinner, I had work to do here and I just got food from the Great Hall." Hiccup lied. In actuality, he'd overstayed his time in the cove today. That was probably why he'd brought Toothless back to the village with him, to go there and get back out with the tools quickly so that he could complete the new fin.

Hiccup's leg tugged behind him suddenly, and he briefly looked down. His eyes widened as he saw the rope attached to the harness loop on his belt. He'd completely forgotten about that still being tied on, it was how he was keeping Toothless close at hand as they snuck through the village. The pulling meant Toothless was moving around inside.

_Damned dragon._

Hiccup quickly looked up, hoping that Astrid didn't notice. Based on her expression, she had.

"Hiccup, normally I wouldn't care, but you're acting weird," Astrid said with a scrutinizing look.

The rope tugged again, this time more urgently. What the Hel was that dragon doing in there!? Hiccup flashed a nervous smile, knowing Astrid had seen him stumble backwards from the rope. Fortunately, it looked like she still hadn't seen the harness sticking out of the window.

"Well, weird_er._" Astrid corrected, her lips curving in an abject frown, "Seriously, what is going on with you? You blow off training all the time now and you disappear for the entire day."

"I… I'm busy." Hiccup lied. Guilt swelled in his chest like a tumor. How could he tell her the truth? He'd be throwing away everything.

Astrid stared at him, her frown persisting, and she pointed her eyes at the ground. In an instant, her mood shifted, and she was scowling when she looked back up.

"Fine. Don't tell me. Keep your secrets from the one person who actually cares." Astrid snarled. She whirled around and began to stalk away.

"Astrid…" Hiccup choked out.

"I need to get home." Astrid cut him off, head cocked so she could glare at him in her peripheral vision, "I'll see you in the morning, Hiccup."

And then she stormed off, an invisible thundercloud hanging over her head and rumbling with the cold aftermath of her words. Hiccup wanted to go after her, he _tried_ to go after her, but the rope fastened to his belt dragged him back into reality. He couldn't just leave Toothless. Dejectedly, he climbed back through the window of the forge, the rope binding him to his dragon relaxing as the distance between them dwindled.

"Hey, bud." Hiccup whispered as Toothless skipped over and sniffed him curiously. "Thanks for listening to me. What were you getting so antsy about?"

Toothless peered over through the other opening of the forge, green eyes locked on the frozen form of a sheep. "Oh." Hiccup muttered, "We should go."

Hiccup climbed into the saddle and Toothless immediately padded forward, instinctively checking to ensure that no one was nearby before bolting out of the forge. The wind whipped around them for all of a moment and Toothless lifted off once they were safely away from the village, gliding into the night towards the cove.

* * *

The journey to the cove was short and quick. Toothless bounded over the edge, gliding down to the ground below and landing by the lake. Hiccup slid off of the dragon's back and removed Toothless' prosthetic. Once he was free, the dragon bounded over to the lake to get a drink. When he returned, Toothless sniffed the boy curiously once again. The Night Fury warbled, catching a whiff of the boy's sudden pheromones and… anxiety?

Hiccup chuckled as Toothless warbled again and nudged him on the arm. "I'm guessing you heard that little talk back there. Naughty dragon."

Toothless cocked his head.

"That girl back there was Astrid. She… she's pretty amazing, bud. Strong, beautiful, determined, she's the best fighter of anyone our age, no doubt." Hiccup explained, "Do dragons fall in love, Toothless?"

The Night Fury warbled oddly.

"Is that a no?" Hiccup half-laughed, "Do you guys fall in love, or do you just mate for babies and then go your separate ways? In fact, how _do_ dragons have babies? I mean, obviously you guys lay eggs, and we know how that…"

Toothless cocked his head again, eyes wide. Hiccup stopped himself. He was really talking about this. He'd had the birds and bees talk. He knew other animals did it too. It was just that in all the documented research there wasn't anything about dragon reproduction.

"Anyway, I… I love Astrid. At least I'm pretty sure I do. It hurts so much to keep this from her… to keep _you_ from her. But how do you think she would react?" Hiccup went on, "This is pretty much the worst level of treason, and yet I still want to be honest with her so badly. There's a part of me that doesn't care what she would do to me if she knew the truth."

"We're engaged, you know that? We're expected to be married in a few years and… have kids, and all of… that. I thought she was going to kill me when she found out. She used to hate me. She might hate me again now. I probably deserve it."

Toothless warbled again and the dragon nudged him, offering the slightest compassionate lick. Hiccup flinched away from the licking and chuckled in that self-deprecating way, looking down at the tailfin in his hands. "Look at this, I'm talking to a dragon about my love life. How pitiful."

Hiccup reached out and stroked Toothless' snout, earning a happy croon from the dragon. Hiccup allowed a small smile to cross his face, and he tucked the prosthetic fin under his arm.

"Thanks, bud. Tomorrow, when I get here… we're gonna try this thing out."

* * *

Hiccup breathed in the salty sea air, the breeze singing in his ears and whipping the fabric of his clothes. Toothless hummed underneath him, calm yet elated to be truly in the air again. Hiccup glanced down at the saddle, where a small cheat sheet was clipped down so that he could remember the tailfin's positions.

"Okay, bud, what do you say? Ready to give this a shot?"

Toothless grunted in agreement.

"Okay, we'll take this nice and slow…" Hiccup said as he glanced down at the cheat sheet. The Isle of Berk sat hundreds of feet below them, tranquil and oblivious to the boy and dragon flying above them. "Let's go to position three—no, four."

Hiccup pushed back on the pedal, opening the tailfin as far as it would go. The fin slid open with a metallic _click_ and Toothless turned his head to look back, eyeing the prosthetic and ensuring that it was working. Hiccup gently tugged Toothless to the left and the Night Fury turned, gliding along the wind and turning around to fly the other direction. Hiccup turned as far as he could to watch the tailfin, his breast bursting with pride as it stayed open and caught the wind correctly.

"Okay, okay, here we go, here we go…" Hiccup repeated to psych himself up. They'd be pushing their limits farther than ever before today. Hiccup took a deep breath and pushed on Toothless, steering the dragon into a diagonal dive.

"Come on, bud!" The wind picked up and howled as they sliced through it, Toothless intermittently beating his powerful wings to keep them airborne. Toothless and Hiccup wobbled as they approached the sea, the dragon dipping a wingtip in the surf and sending a brief spray of saltwater in its wake.

They quickly passed under an arch made of ancient weathered rock. Gulls flew around above them, paying no attention to the boy on the back of a dragon.

"Yes, it worked!" Hiccup muttered. He flinched as they started flying towards a small sea stack and Hiccup tugged on Toothless to turn. The move failed and Toothless smacked headfirst into the rock, roaring briefly and flapping away. "Sorry, bud!" Hiccup groaned. They started flying straight at another sea stack and crashed into that one as well, a sudden _thump_ stopping all of their momentum.

Toothless growled as they flapped away and snapped his head sideways, slapping Hiccup across the face with his ear. Hiccup gasped at the slap and shook his head. "Yeah, yeah, I know, that one was on me. Let's get out of here… position four—no, three."

Hiccup changed the fin and Toothless quickly ascended, beating his wings more frequently now to give them more thrust. They went up, up, and up some more, eventually flying higher than Raven Point and continuing even further.

"Yeah! Go, baby!" Hiccup yelled, his voice hardly carrying against the wind, "This is amazing, Toothless! Yeah! Oh, the wind in my…"

The cheat sheet dislodged from the clip on Toothless' saddle.

"Cheat sheet! Wait-wait-wait, Toothless! Stop!" Hiccup stammered. Toothless obeyed and halted, not quite sure what the problem was, and the motion jerked Hiccup forward. His harness attaching him to Toothless became unbuckled and Hiccup flew up a few more feet, enough for Toothless to see him and realize with a sudden pang that they were both now in mortal peril.

Gravity took hold of both of them and boy and dragon began to fall rapidly. Toothless roared, spiraling without the slightest hint of control. This had never been a problem for him, he could _fly_… just not without Hiccup.

The boy reached out as far as he could, managing to snatch the slip of brown paper from the air and grip it tight before looking back to Toothless. "Toothless! Okay, bud, y-you gotta angle yourself! Try and come over here to—"

Toothless' huge tail slapped him across the face and knocked him back. The wind screamed in Hiccup's ears and he saw stars; they didn't have much time.

Toothless glided over to Hiccup this time, roaring impatiently. Hiccup reached and grabbed onto the saddle, pulling himself into place against all odds, and clamped the cheat sheet between his teeth as he tugged harder than ever on Toothless' neck to get the dragon to pull up. They fell along the side of Raven Point and down to the woods, and Toothless practically descended in a vertical position, wings extended as far as they could go to create drag. It ended up doing little to slow them down—they were moving too fast.

Hiccup saw the foggy sea stack maze and grabbed the cheat sheet, staring at it and trying to figure out the best position. They closed in on the maze and Hiccup realized that if he delayed any longer, they would certainly die.

"Here goes nothing, Toothless…!" Hiccup yelled, letting the cheat sheet fly away and relying on sheer instinct to get them through. He leaned down completely against the saddle and shifted the pedals to open Toothless' fin accordingly. With a jerking motion, they turned, avoiding a craggy pillar. Boy and dragon meshed together, moving as one and dodging obstacle after obstacle, even throwing in a few acrobatic flips.

When the maze ended and the fog parted, there was nothing but open sea in front of them. Hiccup released a breath he hadn't known he was holding and stood as well as he could, rear lifting off of the saddle and arms thrusting into the air.

"_YEAH!"_

Toothless, elated, fired a bolt of fire ahead of them, watching with amusement as the fireball exploded in midair and they approached it.

Hiccup paled. "Come on…"

* * *

They'd camped haphazardly atop a sea stack, watching the sunset and dining on fish. Hiccup's hair was disastrously tangled, and his face still felt warm from flying through the instance of fire that Toothless had delighted in so much. They were lucky that the fireball was a weak one and the tailfin didn't light up and burn.

Toothless grunted repeatedly and he regurgitated a half-eaten fish, glancing at Hiccup and nonverbally offering the meal to the skinny boy.

"Um… no thanks, I'm good." Hiccup said, stomach flipping at the memory of what he'd had to do to gain Toothless' trust that first day. The Night Fury snorted and eyed his hearty pile of fish until a meek screech split the air.

A pack of Terrible Terrors was swooping in from the sea. Toothless let loose a low growl and became protective of his fish, snarling as the Terrors came close.

"Aw, Toothless, c'mon." Hiccup teased. Toothless snorted in his direction. One sneaky Terror dove in and snatched a fish. The miniature dragon scampered away, ripping off a morsel once it was safely away from Toothless. Another Terror approached the stolen fish and tried to steal a bite, but the first Terror shot a small ball of fire to ward it off.

A second fish popped up from Toothless' pile, indicating another Terrible Terror. This time, Toothless retaliated and grabbed the fish, revealing the small dragon and easily winning a tug-of-war to reclaim and eat the stolen fish.

Toothless gave a deep, warbling laugh, mocking the Terror. The tiny dragon took offense and snarled, unfazed by Toothless' titanic-by-comparison size and readying a blast of fire.

As soon as the Terror opened its mouth, Toothless shot a miniature ball of fire, sending the blast straight through the small dragon's mouth and stunning it. The Terrible Terror's body briefly inflated, and smoke trailed from its nose and mouth as the small dragon smacked onto the ground. The Terror got up to walk away, stumbling and defeated.

"Well, not so fireproof on the inside, now are you?" Hiccup said. The Terror looked up at him and Hiccup grabbed a fish, ignoring Toothless' complaint as he tossed it to the small dragon. "Here you go, little guy."

The Terror squeaked and gobbled up the fish, smacking its lips happily as it gulped down the final bits. Squeaking with appreciation, the Terror ambled over to Hiccup's side, curling up against his hip and closing its eyes. The dragon breathed calmly and rapidly, and Hiccup reached down to stroke its scaly skin. The 'vicious beast' purred at the contact.

He'd been told his entire life that all dragons would gladly charge you with death in their eyes and the intent to kill hot on their breath. And yet here one was, happily accepting food and curling up beside him for a nap, not even slightly afraid of being butchered by the Viking boy beside it.

He couldn't hide the wonder in his voice even if he'd wanted to.

"Everything we know about you guys is wrong."

* * *

**Tomorrow's chapter will focus on Astrid and how all of this secrecy is affecting her. And we'll be returning to deviating from the movie as well. I know this has been a bit of a slog, guys, but I hope you can all bear with me here. Things are going to change from here on out.**


	13. Matters of the Heart

**How's Astrid dealing with Hiccup and his secrets? Not all that great. It's tough when someone who tells you everything suddenly starts keeping secrets, as she's been finding out.**

**So, I know for some readers it's been a bit of a slog reading through what's effectively been a novelization of HTTYD1. That stops here. I know it wasn't ideal, but I had to go somewhere with the middle of the story, and this work has always been intended as a rewrite. Anyway, that's my explanation.**

**Please consider leaving a review, I'd love to know how I did with this chapter. It's a big one. Thanks again for reading!**

* * *

**_13\. Matters of the Heart_**

The blade connected with the tree trunk, the splintering of wood music to Astrid's ears. With a passing grunt, she rushed the mangled tree, ripping her axe free and relishing in the metal's song as she turned and hurled it at another tree. She tumbled towards the ground and pulled off a perfect somersault dive to clear the distance to the axe before reaching up and pulling it from the wood.

"Yes!" Astrid whispered to herself, "That's more like it."

She kept up the intensity, moving with a fluid fury and practicing clean, lethal strokes of her axe. She imagined a dragon barreling towards her and slashed through the mental image, pulling up and burying the axe blade in the dirt as if she were tearing through the beast's neck. That's who she was—a 'take it down and lop its head off with an axe' kind of girl.

A face inexplicably appeared in her mind's eye, a skinny rounded build dotted with freckles and sporting auburn hair and warm, intelligent green eyes. Astrid darkened. With a furious growl, she ripped her axe from the ground and buried its blade in another unsuspecting tree, tearing a six-inch deep wound in the trunk. Her shoulders heaved up and down as she cooled off, taking in sharp, heated breaths. She'd been thinking about Hiccup a lot lately, and not always by choice. He'd gradually disappeared from her everyday life, vanishing as soon as dragon training adjourned and rarely returning to the public eye before sunset.

Nothing about his behavior made any sense, but he was never around for her to interrogate him and figure out the truth. She had a feeling that whatever was up demanded a much longer conversation than they'd be able to have in dragon training, that she'd have to get him completely alone if she wanted answers. The chances of that ever happening were, in a word, grim. As soon as Hiccup had an excuse to leave, he was gone. From there, Astrid would trudge alone to the eastern woods and train. When she finished her exercises, Astrid would go by the forge, but Hiccup was almost never there, and when he was, he was on his way out or always dodged her questions.

Astrid also especially hated that Hiccup's weirdness was overlapping with his success in dragon training. Hiccup was her only legitimate competition out of the entire class, and the knowledge of that made her heart swell with pride. She had imagined that if he managed to compete against her, their days would be spent working to beat the other until their limbs ached. Instead, there was only a whisper of his presence and his maddening secrecy.

She found some solace seeing that their work together appeared to be paying off, although Hiccup admittedly had some unorthodox methods to his success. He was most effective when he wasn't wielding a weapon, or when he was using one to fake a dragon out. It was strange, he had some sort of way with the beasts, outsmarting or intimidating them into submission.

How a talking fishbone (that was how he described himself, anyway) could have such a sway over the dragons, Astrid didn't know. Maybe it was just his natural talent, like blacksmithing.

Of course, Astrid was still going to win. She would make sure of that.

Astrid whirled around in yet another move, rearing back her arm and launching her axe in an overhead throw. The axe sang as it sliced through the cold air and met the tree trunk, producing a stiff _crack_ in the wood.

She frowned. The axe had landed off-target, a good six inches to the left. Just a few more inches, and she would've missed the tree entirely.

Astrid hadn't missed a target since she was twelve.

"Guess that means it's quitting time," Astrid said. She straightened her posture as she realized that she was indeed talking to herself. Even more embarrassed, she silently walked up to the tree and pulled her axe free, returning the weapon to its place on her back and heading back to the village.

She trudged through the undergrowth of eastern woods, eyeing the countless tree trunks that she'd marked with the blade of her axe as she passed them. Some of those marks were many months and years old, while others were newer and deeper, evidence of how much stronger she'd grown over the years. These were practically _her _woods, her banner displayed on every tree in sight.

Berk slowly came into view as she reached the break in the trees. At the edge of the town square, near the cliffs, the smithy burned bright and breathed a trail of black smoke into the sky. A bitter chill swept through the town, making Astrid bring her arms together and rub some warmth into them. It was getting colder and colder now as winter truly approached. The whispers around the village had actively begun to hope that Stoick's expedition would return soon. The fleet had been gone an especially long time. Ice would start to set in within the next few weeks, and that would make for dangerous sailing.

Some people began to ask if they were ever coming back in the first place.

Astrid zeroed in on the forge and headed that way, returning any respectful greetings she received from the villagers that passed her by on her walk. As she closed in on the forge, the familiar sound of a hammer's constant banging and some downright awful singing pierced her eardrums.

"_Well, I've got my axe, an' I've got my mace, and I love my wife wit' the ugly face! I'm a Viking through and through! Said I'm a Viking through and through!"_ Gobber recited happily, his dreadful voice loud and clear in the town square.

Astrid ducked into the forge entrance and rapped her knuckles on the doorframe's wooden post to interrupt the blacksmith, "Gobber?"

Gobber's bad singing instantly stopped and he whirled around from his work, his prosthetic left hand replaced by his trusty hammer. "Oh! 'Ello, Astrid, what can I do fer ya? Axe service?"

Astrid frowned, "Oh, no, I don't need that yet. I was just looking for Hiccup."

Gobber likewise frowned and turned back to his work, showing Astrid his back, "You'll have to look elsewhere, I'm afraid. 'Iccup's nowhere to be found."

"He isn't here again?" Astrid repeated, making no move to hide her annoyance.

"Aye, and it's really downright unprofessional!" Gobber drawled in his thick accent, "Saddlin' poor old Gobber with all the work. I'm lucky the village is half-empty, or I'd be up ta my skivvies in work orders!"

Astrid snorted, "Isn't that how it was for a while, though, Gobber?"

"Aye, but I was also much younger back then, lass. Not so much anymore," Gobber fired back, looking over his shoulder and flashing a sly grin. He stepped away from his work and sat down in a stool, aging knees crackling as he went. His peg leg didn't quite meet the ground, instead hanging above the dirt floor. "Now, you and Hiccup, the two of you are close?"

It was a question with an obvious answer, but Astrid replied anyway.

"I don't know… I thought we were. But I'm in the dark on what he's up to just like you. He always dodges my questions or avoids me completely." Astrid said, "It doesn't exactly set a good precedent."

Gobber smirked at her.

"What?"

"Oh, nothin', I'm just wonderin' why you think it sets a bad precedent. With you and Hiccup being, ah…"

"Finish that sentence and I'll make sure you never smith again." Astrid threatened. How had she let herself say something like that? Hiccup's absences were having a _way_ bigger effect on her than she'd thought. Her knees felt weak, crippling embarrassment biting at the back of her eyes. Luckily, she managed to keep a hostile face, locking that creeping self-doubt away in a black part of her mind.

Gobber threw up his hands in mock defense, "Alright, alright, 'twas just a joke. Sheesh. Anyways, I think we both know how Hiccup is. He can barely walk through the village now without someone askin' for his autograph. He's not used to that. He got some attention after his little fire device, but it was nothing like this. I'm sure he runs off somewhere to hide and tinker like he does. Maybe 'e shuts 'imself in his room."

"You'd think he would just tell me if that was the case." Astrid countered.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, lass. But maybe you can go find him and see. And if you do, tell him ol' Gobber wants him at the forge, for Thor's sake!"

Astrid sighed, "I'll try that next. Thanks, Gobber."

"Don't mention it, lass."

Astrid turned and walked out of the forge, face locked in a cryptically negative expression. The sound of the hammer picked up again, and Gobber returned to singing as he worked. Eager to not be punished by the sound of his voice anymore, Astrid set her sights on the Haddock house and headed out of the town square at a jog, her pace reeking of hopefulness.

She found herself stalking up the familiar hill to the home and subconsciously counting the rounded stones sticking out of the ground beside the path. She'd walked up this road many times. At the crest of the hill, the Haddock house overlooked the entire village, the perfect spot for the family of the Chief.

Astrid rapped her knuckles against the big wooden door and waited. When no answer came, she tried again, hitting harder this time. Still no answer, no signs of movement within the house.

Frustrated, Astrid pushed open the door. It was unlocked, unsurprisingly, as the Chief preferred to have an open-door policy for urgent matters. The home was deathly quiet with the exception of the creaking floorboards under her feet. The hearth had been put out and the building was void of activity. The stairs that Astrid knew led to Hiccup's room seemed to call to her, the short hallway at the top as dark as could be.

No. She wasn't going up to Hiccup's room. He'd never invade her privacy like that, so she wouldn't invade his.

"Hiccup?" Astrid called, "Are you here? Hello?"

Nothing. Nothing but the faintest echo of her voice in the decidedly _empty_ home. It was so quiet; she could hear her own heartbeat in her ears.

Astrid bit back a curse. If he wasn't here, then where was he? There weren't many places to go on the island besides the woods, and even Astrid got sick of them after a few hours. Hiccup, on the other hand, was gone all day long.

Astrid growled and stormed out of the house.

Sunlight fell on her face, seemingly igniting another level of anger inside her, as if her emotions were a piece of tinder. Astrid slammed the front door behind her, barely restraining herself from burying her axe into the house's exterior wall.

"Damn you, Hiccup!" she hissed under her breath. She had no leads to go off of. If she were to search the woods, it would take her all day to comb through them, if not longer. That was hardly prudent.

Astrid sighed and hefted her axe, briefly twirling it in her hand. The muscles in her hand were tense, shaking with the force of her grip and her own inner turmoil.

Her fury cooled, quickly replaced by dejection, and the shieldmaiden stalked down the road to her house and sent a silent prayer to every god that would listen, begging that something—anything—would change.

* * *

Chores had become second nature to Edna Hofferson, just like Berk had become her home. Edna herself wasn't originally from Berk, she'd grown up in a small port town along a stretch of land that was frequented by traders traveling to and from the archipelago. One day when she was eighteen and helping on her father's fishing boat, Edna and her family had been blown terribly off course by a storm and ended up docking at Berk for safety. The storm season that year was especially cruel, and it stranded Edna and her family for weeks on an island full of Vikings.

The Chief of Berk, Stoick the Vast, had graciously allowed them to stay on Berk until their ship was repaired and it was safe to leave. Considering what they'd known of the Viking tribes, his generosity had stunned Edna and her family alike. During that stay, she'd met her Ingvar, a dashing young man of twenty.

One thing had led to another and a few weeks later her family had left without her, as Edna gave her hand in marriage to Ingvar Hofferson.

Her life had been the better for it. Ingvar had taught her how to fight, helped her kill her first dragon, and doted on her at every turn. They were the picture of perfection, young and in love and not ashamed of it in the least. Through her new life, she'd become acquainted with Valka, the wife of Chief Stoick. That meeting had spurred an unlikely friendship between a mainlander and the wife of the Chief, though she never did understand the woman's peculiar insistence that dragons were inherently good creatures.

Edna was well aware of the irony that a woman who preached on behalf of the dragons was later carried off by them. In the tragedy, Valka had left her poor baby boy to be raised solely by Stoick. In memory of her late friend, Edna had resolved to keep an eye on Hiccup as he grew, though always from a distance. Despite his unfortunate penchant for damaging the village, Edna never despised him or looked down on him. He was trying, and he reminded her so much of Valka, with his skinny build and bright mind.

And _gods,_ her daughter was going to marry the boy. Her Astrid was among the few people on Berk that didn't have the misfortune of a hideous name. That had always been the strangest thing about Berk: their tradition that children be given hideous names to ward off things like trolls.

They didn't have such traditions where Edna was from. When Astrid had been born, Ingvar had suggested a plethora of wild names, but Edna had vetoed them all. She had brought their daughter into the world, so she would reserve the right to name her, she'd said. It had been such a difficult birth, but when Edna had laid eyes on their infant daughter, with her gently shut eyes and the faintest tufts of blonde hair on her tiny head, all of the pain and struggle had been worth it. She was beautiful, a gift from Asgard itself. And so, Edna chose to call her daughter _divine beauty._

And Thor, she was one, even if she tried to ignore it. Truly a work of the gods themselves. She'd make a beautiful bride someday, no doubt.

It was mid-morning on an unsuspecting day when Astrid came trudging in the house, fingers clenched tightly around the handle of her axe. Edna was in the process of cleaning dishes when she looked up at the sound of the door to see her daughter, and the conflicted look on the young warrior's face set off alarm bells in her mother's head.

"Astrid, dear? Are you all right?"

Astrid looked up at her mother, unable to hide the roiling tension that could be seen in her very eyes, like she was going through so many emotions at once that she didn't know exactly which one to feel. Astrid didn't have to answer for Edna to set down the cup in her hand and step away from the kitchen to approach her daughter.

"What is wrong, my love?" Edna asked, genuinely concerned. She reached a gentle hand out to her daughter, carefully holding Astrid's free arm.

"Hiccup. Hiccup is what's wrong," Astrid croaked, her grip on the handle of her axe somehow tightening even further and turning her knuckles white.

"What about him?" Edna asked.

"I don't think he trusts me. And I don't understand why."

"Well, do you trust him?"

"Yes."

"Does he know that?"

"I don't know how he wouldn't. I trust him. And he continues to keep secrets from me. He hid his machines from me when he told me he was going to stop working on them, and now he's hiding something else from me, too. He disappears after dragon training every single day." Astrid explained, slowly losing control of her words, "He says he's at the forge or busy with other things, but that's not true. Gobber told me he doesn't come to work very often anymore."

"And why does it bother you so much that he has secrets?" Edna asked.

"I don't know!" Astrid snapped and turned away from her mother, tugging her arm away from Edna's hand. "I… I _need_ him to trust me, Mom. How can we be…" Astrid rambled, gesturing wildly with her hands as her back remained turned, "How can we be husband and wife if he refuses to be honest with me?"

Edna flinched. Astrid never mentioned the contract between her and Hiccup. She had always seemed content to ignore its existence, to avoid it entirely.

The silence caught Astrid's attention. She turned again, looking at Edna's surprised eyes and immediately changing gears, "We're going to have to marry each other someday. Whether I want it or not, it's going to happen."

"And do you _want_ it to happen?" Edna asked.

Astrid looked up at her, "What does that have to do with anything?" she said bluntly, face twisting into a scowl.

Edna chuckled in spite of herself. "It has everything to do with this, Astrid. Think. _Do_ you want to marry Hiccup?"

Astrid scowled, still defensive. "That didn't matter when Dad signed the contract."

"Astrid." Edna said, giving her that motherly stare that told the teenager to answer her earlier question for real.

Astrid rubbed her arm and looked at the ground, considering the possibility of marriage to Hiccup. More like an inevitability, actually. It was an idea she had wrestled with many times before, but she had always shoved it down and forced herself to ignore it, embroiling herself in training or learning or working. She had never wanted to be a wife; the idea had always disgusted her.

But now she knew Hiccup, knew him more than she'd ever thought she would. He cared about her wellbeing, and he'd never tried to take advantage of her or hit on her like Snotlout. He never showed any interest in changing who she was, always letting her take charge and be her own person. Somehow, she knew that he'd always be that way with her.

He'd always be there for her.

She couldn't imagine her life anymore without him.

"Honesty," Edna stipulated, interrupting Astrid's train of thought. She didn't need an answer from her daughter, she could see it all in her expression. "That is how your father and I got through the rough patches."

Astrid frowned, surprised, "You two had rough patches?"

"Oh, of course," Edna said nonchalantly, turning and walking back to the kitchen, "We married young, when our hearts were still so full of fire and passion. We loved each other very much, and still do, but there were times when those fires threatened to burn us both to cinders. Every couple has their arguments, has their troubles, and honesty is what gets them out, what gets them _through._"

Astrid looked down at her feet, considering her mother's words.

"Trust me, love, the sooner that you are honest about your feelings for Hiccup, the sooner things will improve."

Astrid flinched at that. She quickly went on the defensive, but her voice came out all jumbled and awkward, "I… I-I don't have… _feelings_ for Hiccup."

Edna snickered, going back to work washing one of their cups. "Alright, dear."

Astrid scowled again, offended by her mother's simple rebuttal. "I don't."

"That's nice, dear." Edna replied, making it so very obvious that she didn't believe Astrid. "So, what are you off to do next?"

Astrid straightened her back. She was not playing this game with her mother, no way. "I'm going to go help Gobber in the forge. He could use some help with Hiccup being gone."

"Alright, dear. And Astrid?" Edna called, stopping her daughter short before she could exit the house, "Think on what I said. Honesty."

Astrid's hand paused on the door's handle.

"Okay, Mom."

* * *

Gobber had very much appreciated Astrid's help in the forge, even though he insisted that it wasn't necessary. Astrid replied that it gave her something to do, and though she wasn't an experienced or a gifted smith by any means, she was more than capable of sharpening dull weapons and controlling the forge's hearth for Gobber to save him time.

The day passed by quickly. Hiccup returned inexplicably for dinner with the group at sunset, dodging all questions and keeping the focus off of him as much as possible. He was gone in a flash once his meal was finished, once again slipping through Astrid's fingers.

Astrid didn't think much about what her mother had told her today. She was too preoccupied with helping Gobber for the most part, and when she did have free time, she actively avoided thinking about Hiccup and the ridiculous idea of her having _feelings_ for him.

They were friends. That was it.

Friends who had to marry each other.

The next morning brought with it an icy chill and dismally gray clouds to block out the sun. Gobber released the Hideous Zippleback for the day's training, testing the group's knowledge of the dragon as well as their skills. Hiccup, unsurprisingly, took charge and won the exercise, and then promptly disappeared when the lesson was done.

Well, she wasn't missing him this time.

Astrid got out of the ring as quickly as she could, though it was a solid minute later than Hiccup. She emerged from the ramp leading into the ring, and in the distance spotted Hiccup running up the hill to his house. With a purpose, Astrid gave chase, running to the Haddock house herself.

She reached the top of the hill and speed-walked to the front door. She clenched a fist and prepared to knock on the door, ready to confront the boy on the other side.

She never got that far, because before she could knock she heard the slapping sound of a door swinging open and hitting a wall. Astrid froze and walked to the side of the house, leaning to look towards the back. Sure enough, there was Hiccup, running for the woods with a large sack on his back and a few pieces of equipment tucked under his arm.

It took a moment to process what she was seeing, and far less time to decide on her course of action.

She'd follow him, and she'd find out just where he was heading, and what he was hiding.


	14. Hiccup's Secret

**Hello again, everyone! Astrid is on the hunt, and some secrets are about to finally come to light. The thing is, they both have secrets that need to be shared...**

**Thanks again to everyone who's sent in a review so far, and please do let me know what you think of this one!**

* * *

**_14\. Hiccup's Secret_**

Astrid prowled after Hiccup like a wolf, making sure to keep her distance and her footfalls light so that he wouldn't hear her. Hiccup seemed blissfully unconcerned, hiking carelessly down the treacherous path as if he'd walked it a hundred times.

"_Where are you off to, Hiccup?"_ Astrid whispered under her breath. She kept tailing him, stunned as he kept going further and further without a care. As he went deeper into the woods, the terrain soon began to dip, and he passed a mangled tree by a ruined hill, the grass that must've once covered it now ripped apart so viciously that the soil underneath was now largely on top.

"What happened here?" Astrid muttered, placing a hand on the ruined tree trunk. Part of the trunk dangled away from the rest of it, a massive, jagged tear splitting the trunk in two at an errant angle.

Astrid didn't dwell on it and kept walking, not wanting to lose Hiccup. She crawled over the ruined hill, spotting Hiccup's bobbing head beyond a warped boulder coated with moss. Quietly, she snuck over the hill and slid down the path, catching herself on the boulder and peering around it. On the ground just in front of her were some shredded remains of rope and a dark, metallic ball.

Astrid crept towards the ball, reaching down and hefting it in her hand. The metal was smooth and heavy, and she could immediately tell that the sphere was part of a bola.

Astrid suddenly realized that they were near Raven Point. Sure enough, the mountain loomed over her in the distance. Hadn't Hiccup claimed to have shot down a Night Fury near here after the last raid? Once again, Astrid quickly got up and scampered down the trail, dashing any thoughts not related to following Hiccup. If she lost him now, she might never find him. She crept along the path and spotted him again through the undergrowth, carefree as he went down the path carrying a large burlap sack on his back.

Astrid tailed him through the foliage for another few minutes, eventually watching him pass around a bend. She followed, still ever so careful with her footsteps, and peered around a tree to see where he'd went.

Her breath hitched in her throat as she failed to find him. She scanned the scene in front of her again, searching for that familiar streak of auburn, but found nothing. He was gone.

"No, no, no." Astrid murmured. Her voice hushed, she swore and hit her fist on the tree trunk she was leaning on. "Dammit!"

She had lost him, all after coming this far.

Astrid sighed, about to resign herself to her failure. Maybe she could just wait at Hiccup's house and when he returned, she could lay into him and drag the truth out.

She was just about to turn back when she spotted the ancient boulders. Astrid did a double take, peering at the two light-gray rocks with a keen eye. They leaned against each other in an almost unnatural fashion. Intrigued, Astrid crept closer, reaching the boulders and looking past them.

The world dropped off in front of her. Enormous gray walls stretched at least fifty feet straight down, sort of like a massive bowl.

Astrid stepped back with a jolt. A drop from that height would certainly kill her. She looked back at the boulders, and for the first time realized that they concealed a crevice in the earth. It was dark inside the opening, but light filtered in from somewhere, indicating a second opening on the other side.

"Jackpot," she whispered. She promptly dropped inside the crevice and, as expected, found herself in a small cave. The opening on the other end called to her and she walked, not sure what she was going to find.

When Astrid reached the edge and sunlight blinded her eyes once again, she was stunned by what she saw. She had dropped around ten feet down the side of the walls and reemerged on a natural sort of balcony, and sprawling in front of her beyond the ledge was a tranquil cove. A small lake down below teemed with life, bordered by an expanse of lush grass, and twisted trees scaled the walls alongside long trails of moss and vines. A few birds sang in the treetops, their voices echoing down into the bowl.

Astrid looked down and her breath hitched when she spotted Hiccup on the ground, still lugging that burlap sack over his back. Glancing over to her left, she spotted the small pass dropping down along the side of the wall, a long but steady ramp that trailed all the way to the ground. This must've been how he got in and out of… wherever this was.

Astrid quietly slithered down the pass, eyeing the strange new place as she went. No wonder she had nearly lost him, the cove was well-hidden. She'd never even heard of the place. Its existence probably wasn't even documented. Hiccup remained unaware of her presence as she crept down, rummaging through the materials he'd brought with him. After what seemed like an eternity, Astrid reached the ground and pressed her back up against a boulder, hiding from view just as Hiccup spoke.

"Morning, bud. Hungry?" Hiccup's voice rang out around the silent cove. Astrid's nose crinkled. What was going on?

"C'mon, get over here, you big lug, eat up. I was thinking we'd test out the new fin some more. Now that I've reinforced my harness, I don't think we'll need to worry about what happened yesterday." Hiccup rambled.

Astrid bit back a growl. She had no idea what was going on. Harness? New fin? Just what was he up to? And _who_ was he talking to? There was no one else here besides him and, secretly, her.

Right?

_"Okay, if you want answers, Astrid, you're gonna have to go and get 'em."_ There she went, talking to herself out loud again. Maybe Hiccup was rubbing off on her more than she'd thought.

Astrid peered around the boulder. The first thing she saw was Hiccup, facing her direction and kneeling down over whatever equipment he'd brought with him. He'd set down the large sack he'd been carrying behind him, too. Astrid still didn't know what was in it. What could he possibly need something so big for?

Come to think of it, it kind of looked like…

Motion in the distance caught her attention and she looked past Hiccup. Her vision adjusted, and the next thing she saw was the big, black shape walking toward Hiccup, unseen since his back was turned to it. Astrid flinched, and as she took in the animal's appearance, the wings and the tail and the flat, rounded head complete with piercing green eyes, she recognized the shape immediately.

_Dragon._

There was no hesitation in Astrid's next move. She scrambled around the boulder into the open and launched herself forward, shouting with a level of fear that she hadn't known she was capable of feeling.

"_HICCUP!"_

Hiccup's head snapped up, and his emerald eyes widened in a flash as he saw her. His mouth fell open and he moved to stand up when he saw her grab her axe from her back. The boy immediately looked back behind him, spotting the dragon, and then looked back at Astrid.

"Astrid, no!" Hiccup shouted, but she didn't hear him. He stood up and gestured for her to back away, and the dragon at his back reared up and roared, hackles raised and front legs flailing in an aggressive manner as it unintentionally knocked over the basket and spilled dozens of fish from it. Astrid didn't heed Hiccup's call, continuing to advance and moving to attack the beast.

"Astrid!" Hiccup tried again, and this he stepped into her path. In a fluid motion, she grabbed his arm and yanked him back so that she could stand protectively in front of him, noticing that he fell to the ground once she'd thrown him behind her. The dragon roared again.

Something latched onto her legs and pulled them out from under her, and Astrid promptly fell to the ground. She lost her grip on her axe and hit her head on the ground with a pounding _thud,_ choking on air for a brief moment as her vision blurred and the wind was knocked out of her. She immediately looked up and Hiccup scrambled in front of her, raising his arms at the approaching dragon.

"No! Back, bud, get back!" Hiccup yelled, but the sound was fuzzy in Astrid's ears. Hiccup quickly stooped down and grabbed Astrid's axe. She wanted to shout for Hiccup to save himself, to let her fight off the dragon while he ran for help, but instead of burying the blade in the dragon's neck like he was supposed to, he merely turned away from the beast and sent the axe flying across the grass.

_What the Hel?_

The dragon seemed to calm down and Hiccup relaxed. Astrid's senses and reason returned to her, her nerves wild with adrenaline, but before she could say anything—like demand to know why the Hel he had thrown her axe away or what the Hel he was doing—Hiccup beat her to it.

"You scared him."

It was the most absurd thing Astrid had ever heard in her entire life. Without thinking, she threw a panicked reply as she backed away across the grass, feeling dwarfed by the angry black dragon in front of her. _"I_ scared _him!?"_

And then she put the pieces in front of her together, and her blood ran cold with confusion. Her voice was hushed, so low and so oddly menacing that it made Hiccup's hairs stand on end.

"_Who_," she started, "is _him?"_

Hiccup paled, his face implying resignation. He tried to force a smile, but failed, and his response came out jumbled and panicked.

"Um, well… Astrid, Toothless." Hiccup said, pointing to the dragon, "Toothless… Astrid."

The dragon let loose a ferocious snarl, big and jet-black and terrifying and decidedly _not toothless_. Astrid backed away a few more paces, still grounded in the grass. She fisted one of her hands in the greenery, her entire body rigid. Hiccup stepped in her direction, his hands sticking out in front of him carefully.

"Astrid…" Hiccup started.

Astrid shook her head rapidly, cutting him off. "Stay away from me! Y-You… you…" she stammered, but she couldn't find the words that she wanted to scream.

"You have to give me a chance to explain." Hiccup interjected, "It's not going to make any sense if you don't calm down."

"Calm down!?" Astrid repeated, "How am I supposed to calm down, Hiccup? _This_ is where you come every day when you tell me that you're _busy_ or blow off training?" She eyed the spilt basket of fish next, "And that… that's our food! You're stealing our food and using it to feed this… this _thing_!?"

The dragon snarled again. Astrid didn't care.

"Astrid—" Hiccup tried, but she immediately cut him off, the sound of his voice serving as the flint to her steel and igniting another spark of anger in her blood.

"No! You don't get to talk! You lied to me! You've been keeping this huge, insane secret from me! I keep telling you that you can talk to me about anything, and you're betraying the village! You're hiding a _dragon_!" Astrid accused.

Hiccup's expression turned darker now. Her yelling had spurred him to challenge her rather than cower and accept the tongue-lashing. "How could I have shared this with you? Can you say with absolute certainty that you wouldn't react in this exact way? Can you? Please, Astrid, tell me how I could've talked to you about any of this earlier, because I've been wrestling with it for weeks and I'd really like to have an answer!"

"It doesn't matter how I would react! I asked you to trust me, I've opened myself up to you, and you've kept things hidden from me and strung me along and _lied_ to my face!" Astrid snarled, "And the worst part is that I'm not just your friend, Hiccup. I'm not Gobber. I'm not your dad. I'm your _betrothed_. People who are promised are supposed to be _honest_ with each other, Hiccup!"

Astrid regretted her words as soon as she saw Hiccup's face change. She'd already steered him into a bad mood, but now his face had gone red with fury and a storm brewed in his beautiful, usually calm emerald eyes.

"_No,"_ Hiccup snarled, and for a moment Astrid was struck with the most unusual hint of fear she'd ever experienced. She had never seen him like this, ever. He gave her this incredulous look and gestured furiously to himself, and then _at_ her rather than to her, "Do _not_ play that card on me. You don't want _this._ You have _never_ wanted it."

With those few words, Astrid's heart unexpectedly shattered. In that moment, her mother's words yesterday came rushing back to the forefront of her mind. She'd ignored them until now out of petty spite, but now that she suddenly had Hiccup's point of view, the entire picture was suddenly so much clearer. Her own, confused feelings were now crystal clear.

He thought that she didn't want him.

But she did.

Maybe not right now, when they were basically still kids. But over the past year or so she'd come to care for him. She _did_ like him that way, she realized. She _did _like him as more than a friend. That night she'd found out she would have to marry him was once the worst of her life. But it had also forced her to get to know him, to learn about all of his little quirks that she hadn't realized until this very moment that she _loved._

She lost count of how many things she liked about him. She liked the little freckles that dotted his face. She liked his constantly compassionate self, considering what _she _thought rather than just what he did. She liked his big, green eyes that she could stare into for hours and not get bored. The decidedly un-Viking-like intelligence in that brain of his. His persistent, never-give-up personality, even when everyone else insisted that he do so. Those small, shy lips that made Astrid think, bizarrely, that he might be nice to kiss. She liked it all.

She hadn't wanted marriage in the past because she thought she knew what would happen to her. She would be subservient to whatever husband she was sold to, diminished from a warrior to a homemaker and a bed slave. Her husband would change her, casting aside all of the things made her who she was and turning her into a glorified piece of property.

But Hiccup wasn't like that. And that was why she was attracted to him. Or, more accurately, why she'd _been_ attracted to him, for longer than she ever realized or had been willing to admit. He was just so… _different_. Often, she would catch herself watching him from a distance while he was at work in the forge, before turning away and ignoring the change of pace in her heartbeat, convincing herself that it meant nothing.

But it did mean something. _He _meant something.

Astrid's voice broke when she opened her mouth to respond. It was probably the most embarrassing moment of her life. Astrid Hofferson's voice was not supposed to _break._

"What if I did?"

Hiccup went stiff.

"…What?"

"What if I did want… that? Not right now, not today, but later on? What if I did want to be…" Astrid sucked in a breath, amazed at what she was about to say and knowing that it was painfully true, "your wife? W-what if I liked the idea of having a husband that I know would let me be who I wanted to be? Who let me make my own choices, who let me be my own person, and loved me for that? Someone who I... who I could also love because of that?" Astrid wrung her hands repeatedly, more nervous than she'd ever been as she stripped away the curtains hiding her most personal thoughts.

"You… you would really want that? You'd want… me?" Hiccup asked, that storm in his eyes retreating. The sun was coming back out in those orbs of his, shining anew. He'd softened completely, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

He probably couldn't, actually. He probably thought he was dreaming.

Astrid gulped, avoiding Hiccup's gaze. She was still on the ground, and it made her feel even weaker than laying her emotions bare did.

"Yeah. I've… I've wrestled with it a lot lately, and… I do. I mean that." Astrid admitted, "Is… is there a problem with that?"

"Problem?" Hiccup repeated. He gasped for breath and looked away from her for a moment and then back to her before looking at his feet. He chuckled. "No, Astrid, it's not a problem. A-at all. I'm… I'm just processing."

"…Oh." Astrid said, not sure what else she could say. All things considered, this wasn't the situation she wanted to strip her soul in and reveal the little locked-up box that was her feelings. Her ears rang in the silence and she looked at the dragon again. It was sitting there, eyeing them both with this strange... curiosity?

She realized that they still needed to talk about that.

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked.

"Y-Yes, Astrid?"

"You have a pet dragon."

"I have a pet dragon," Hiccup agreed dumbly.

It seemed absolutely absurd that they were being this civil about it. It probably had something to do with the huge confession she'd just made. It seemed that Hiccup being friends with a dragon didn't carry as much weight as Astrid Hofferson admitting that she kind of, possibly, definitely liked Hiccup.

Or maybe it wasn't. The knowledge that Hiccup was friends with a _dragon_ dawned on her a second time, and her face began to twist in confused anger. Immediately, Hiccup cut in, trying to head her off before she blew up again.

"Astrid, they're not what we think they are."

"Hiccup, just… what?" Astrid asked, dumbfounded. "The dragons aren't what we think they are? They're constantly raiding us, stealing our food, destroying our homes, killing our people. How can you possibly say that they're not what we think they are?"

"Because they're different when they aren't raiding. And they become hostile when we attack them, they're just defending themselves." Hiccup replied, "I've seen it."

He kept on, "Toothless has taught me so much, Astrid, things that I never thought I would learn. He's had me thinking things about dragons that I never thought I would think, that I'm not _supposed_ to think. I don't know how else to put it, but I swear, they aren't what we think they are. Toothless isn't mindless. He doesn't thirst for blood with every waking moment. He's a kind, gentle, intelligent creature."

He'd closed the distance between them now. Astrid hadn't noticed in the highs and lows of her recent emotions, but he was now standing right above her, gently reaching out his hand towards her to help her up.

"Just let me show you."

His emerald eyes shook ever so slightly, like he was on the verge of crying but there were no other signs yet. Astrid would know that look anywhere. He was telling the truth, or at least what he believed was the truth, and he wanted her to believe him so badly. Astrid stole another glance at the dragon. This time, it was watching Hiccup with the most peculiar look, all of that malice she had been on the receiving end of gone in an instant. Its jet-black pupils were square and curious, its deep green eyes calm and unflinching.

Nothing like what they were supposed to be.

"You're nothing like the others. You're the only one who will listen to me," Hiccup added, "Please, Astrid. Let me show you."

Every impulse, every lesson Astrid had ever learned screamed at her to get to her feet and run, to tell anyone who would listen about the Night Fury and the traitor in the woods.

Instead, Astrid stared at Hiccup, and then his hand, and then at the dragon. The beast was now watching her with that same look, its head cocked to the side as it observed her. Its gaze was so strangely warm, and a strange sensation trailed up her spine as she felt like she was on the cusp of something amazing.

She reached up and took Hiccup's hand.

* * *

Astrid held the fish in her hands, frozen with fear. Hiccup's dragon—Toothless—stood above her, wriggling excitedly as his eyes flicked back and forth between her and the food she was carrying.

It was like a child waiting to open a Snoggletog present.

Hiccup had introduced the two of them more formally and stepped away, suggesting that Astrid feed Toothless to begin getting to know him while he went off and did... something. She had warily grabbed a fish from the pile and Toothless had suddenly advanced, scaring Astrid enough that she fell to the ground and backed up until reaching a boulder that prevented her escape.

She had reached for her axe in that moment, only to find that it wasn't there. That was right, Hiccup had thrown it out of reach. Damn him.

It was actually kind of embarrassing. She was supposed to be a dragon killer, and this thing made her scurry across the ground like a frightened child. When the Night Fury had charged her earlier with teeth bared, she'd been ready to go down yelling and swinging her weapon.

It took her a moment to recognize that the dragon wasn't trying to harm her, it was just excited about the food in her hands.

"Okay, um… h-here you go." Astrid managed. She reached towards the dragon and 'Toothless' immediately lurched forward, teeth extending from his pink gums to snatch the fish. Astrid flinched away as the fish was ripped from her grasp, back pressing against the boulder. Toothless greedily swallowed the fish and bounded around, catching sight of his tail and chasing it in a few circles.

The entire scene stole a laugh out of Astrid. She thought that she should quiet down, that this wasn't a situation to laugh at, but Toothless heard her laughter and took it as encouragement, wriggling around some more and… dancing?

Astrid _giggled_ at the sight, quickly quieting and feeling embarrassed that the sound had actually come from her.

Toothless suddenly paused and looked at Astrid, eyes narrowed. She flinched. Had she said something wrong? Toothless pawed toward her until he was really close, freezing Astrid in place, and his throat suddenly started to hitch. The dragon made a few congested sounds and then dipped his head towards Astrid's lap, promptly vomiting half of the fish he'd just eaten onto her armored skirt.

Astrid made a pitiful, disgusted sound that she preferred to never repeat in her life, a horrified shiver crawling down her back. The stench assaulted her nose and she turned, yelling, "Hiccup!"

The boy looked up from unpacking, spotting the scene ahead of him and grinning. Oh, she was going to kill him. He was _enjoying_ this. Hiccup stood up and walked over, bringing Toothless' saddle with him.

"He likes you. He wants you to eat the fish."

Astrid paled and her mouth dropped open, "I will _not_ be doing that."

Hiccup feigned offense. "Aw, now, Astrid, how can you say no to that face?"

Toothless nodded and wriggled some more, apparently agreeing with Hiccup and looking back to Astrid expectantly. Astrid stared at them both, a blank look on her face. She thanked Odin for her armored skirt. She would not appreciate having to wash dragon saliva out of linens… or explain how they'd become soiled in the first place.

"Just because I agreed to try and greet your _dragon_ does not mean that I agreed to eat a barfed-up _fish,_" Astrid snarled. She glanced down at the fish and her stomach trembled again, "There's no way that you did this. No way."

"Way," Hiccup replied, smiling.

Well, anything that Hiccup could do, Astrid could do. She suspected that she wasn't getting out of this, so she might as well try and show him up.

Astrid looked down, eyes unwillingly fixing on the grimy fish, and then focused on Hiccup again, refusing to look down as she grabbed the fish and lifted it to her mouth. The saliva stuck to her hands. She caught another whiff of the fish and almost barfed on the spot before holding her breath and forcing herself to take a bite. Ignoring the slimy _crunch_ of the fish as she bit into it, Astrid quickly chewed about three times and forcibly swallowed the bite, throwing the fish to the side and finally exhaling, leaning forward to take a few breaths and ensure that the fish stayed down.

"Oh. Oh, that was gross," Astrid groaned, almost turning green for a split second. "Ew."

"Hey, you took it better than I did," Hiccup snickered. She threw a cross look at him, softening as she watched him laugh. Hiccup glanced from her to Toothless and then dropped the saddle, stepping over to stoop down beside her. He gently grabbed her hand and lifted it up. Astrid tensed.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm showing you something," Hiccup answered cryptically. He gestured for Toothless to come closer, and Astrid immediately became uncomfortable.

"Hiccup."

"He isn't going to hurt you, Astrid. I said I'd show you that dragons aren't what you think, and now I'm proving that to you." Hiccup said, "Toothless already likes you."

"But Hiccup—"

"Astrid. Do you trust me?" Hiccup asked, staring into her soul with those big, beautiful green eyes of his.

Her answer was obvious. Of course, she trusted him. She still sighed, embarrassed, "Yeah."

"Then you know that I won't let you get hurt," Hiccup said.

Astrid relented, and Toothless started to approach again. Hiccup placed his free hand on the side of the dragon's head, giving the Night Fury a gentle scratch before he instructed Astrid.

"Okay, I'm going to let go of your hand now. I need you to relax. Dragons can sense if you're on edge, and it will make them uncomfortable too," Hiccup explained, "Just stick your arm out, open your hand, and wait. He'll do the rest."

Astrid did as she was told, and Hiccup took a few steps back. Toothless crept toward her hand, nostrils expanding and depressing rapidly as he smelled her. A little warble passed from Toothless' throat and he stepped closer, mere inches from her hand.

Astrid tensed as a little bug in her brain tried to spur her into attack mode, stoking her instincts and making her heart beat faster. Toothless stopped and glanced up at her, fixing those curious, calm black pupils on her, and warbled again. Astrid forced herself to relax. She wanted to give this dragon a chance. Hiccup clearly trusted the beast, so that had to count for something.

Toothless responded as she calmed, taking in a deep breath and exhaling warm air through his nostrils. With a slow, yet fluid motion, the dragon shut his eyes and closed the gap.

Astrid hadn't been sure what she was expecting from the contact, but what she felt blew her every expectation out of the water. Soothing heat radiated from Toothless' jet-black scales, a perfect middle ground between hot and normal. Toothless crooned at her touch, taking another deep breath. She felt his lungs expand and his insides rumble as he breathed.

Toothless pulled back slightly and gently flicked out his tongue, applying the slightest lick to Astrid's palm. Astrid stifled a laugh, not believing her eyes.

"Wow." Astrid managed.

"See what I mean? The village… they'd have us believe that dragons are born killers, that they're cold and violent and that… that they thirst for blood," Hiccup said, "It's all wrong, Astrid. Everything that we think we know about them is wrong."

Astrid frowned. That seemed to be a stretch to her. Toothless, it seemed, was good; calm and playful and endearing. But she had no other evidence to this idea that all dragons were good. Every other dragon she'd seen until now had been violent. But she could tell that Hiccup believed it in his soul, and she didn't want to crush him by arguing with him further.

Hiccup approached Toothless again, picking up the saddle. "Okay, bud, are you ready to go?"

"What are you doing?" Astrid asked as Toothless happily bounded over to Hiccup and allowed the saddle to be placed on his back.

"I'm about to take Toothless flying."

"Flying?" Astrid repeated, "Why?"

"Because he needs exercise, and he can't fly without me," Hiccup explained.

Astrid cocked an eyebrow, confused. "He can't? He's a dragon, what do you mean he can't fly without you?"

Hiccup's shoulders sagged, as if he was ashamed of something. "Show her, bud." he said, and Toothless curled his tail around and revealed the prosthetic tailfin. Astrid flinched at the sight, eyeing the leather replacement.

"What happened to his tail?" Astrid asked. And _h__ow_ hadn't she noticed it before?

"My machine worked. Tore off his tailfin bringing him down," Hiccup explained rather briefly, "It's like Gobber said: a downed dragon is a dead dragon. I can't let that happen to him, Astrid. Besides you, Toothless is my only friend. He's stuck here because of me. I can't leave him here to die."

"So you're helping him fly again. That's why you've been disappearing so much," Astrid realized.

"Basically," Hiccup agreed, "I work in the forge when everyone is asleep so that no one will catch me."

Astrid nodded, and then her mind put together the pieces from their encounter a few nights ago, "So, then… the other night at the forge, when you were acting all weird…?"

Hiccup nodded as if it was obvious. "He was there. And he couldn't sit still for thirty seconds."

Hiccup threw an accusing look at Toothless, and the Night Fury rolled his big green eyes. They were all unharmed, weren't they? Hiccup finished attaching the saddle and climbed onto the dragon's back.

"So, when will you be back?" Astrid asked.

"Not long. You know, you could come with us," Hiccup suggested.

"Absolutely not."

"Astrid, c'mon."

"No way. I draw the line at eating a fish that's been barfed up."

Hiccup sighed and chuckled. "Afraid of heights, milady?"

"We'll go with that."

Hiccup hesitated. "You won't tell anyone about this, will you? About Toothless?"

Astrid knew her answer, even though it went against every Viking law she knew of. She could see just how much this dragon meant to him, and he meant a lot to her. She could never betray him like that. "No, Hiccup. I promise. Your secret is safe with me."

"Thank you," Hiccup breathed, relaxing, "I'm really, really glad that I can count on you, Astrid. I mean that. And I'm sorry for hiding... well, all of this from you. I won't do it again."

"No more secrets?" she pressed.

Hiccup nodded resolutely, not hesitating in the least, "No more secrets."

Astrid nodded and sat down on the grass, leaning her back against a boulder jutting out of the ground. "Alright, now go on, do whatever it is you do when you fly a dragon."

Hiccup smiled and patted Toothless' neck, and boy and dragon shot off into the sky, quickly becoming a black dot against the blue sky. She watched them go until she couldn't see them anymore, and then turned to look around the empty cove.

With a start, she realized that she was already bored without Hiccup here.


	15. The Return of the Chief

**This is kind of a filler chapter and sticks pretty close to the movie again. Next chapter will pick back up with something much more exciting.**

* * *

_**15\. The Return of the Chief**_

Gobber was hard at work when the horn sounded, one long blast that cut through the chilly morning.

Everyone on Berk knew what the horn blast meant: approaching ships.

Gobber set down his tools as a crowd charged through the village and hobbled out of the forge, following the horde of Vikings clamoring towards the docks as the small group of ships grew larger and larger as they neared the island.

Gobber himself waddled down the main ramp leading into the docks, shuffling on his wooden leg behind the majority of the crowd. When he reached the bottom of the ramp, the ships were already docking, and Gobber got a good look at the fleet's condition.

It wasn't good. One ship hadn't come back at all, and the remaining vessels were overcrowded. Every ship sported ravaged wooden bodies, splintered and broken by whatever dragons they'd managed to come across. The sails of each ship were in tatters, some decorated with burn holes and others slashed by claws and wings. It was a wonder any of them had been able to sail back this way, much less make it to Berk.

Based on the state of the remaining ships, it was no wonder that the expedition had taken so long to return. Physically sailing to Helheim's Gate only took two days or so, three with unfavorable winds. Progress on the trip back to Berk must've been grievously slow, thanks to the added weight and ruined sails. But as Gobber knew all too well, no band of warriors led by Stoick the Vast would fail to return, no matter how dire their situation. The Chief of the Hooligan Tribe was boar-headed and stubborn to a fault.

As soon as the ships were safely docked, Vikings began to disembark, lugging whatever weapons and equipment they could carry. Loved ones swarmed each returning survivor. Gobber recognized with a frown that there would be some families that would not see their loved ones return. Voyages like these always had casualties.

Stoick was the first to hop off of the lead ship, carrying a bundle of equipment under his massive arm and wearing an even angrier version of the seemingly never-ending scowl that was so often on his face. He sifted through the crowd that had amassed on the docks, uninterested in taking even a moment to greet any of his people.

"I trust you found the nest, at least," Gobber said, holding onto the hope that there was at least some good news to come with the fleet's dismal return. The blacksmith fell into stride with the Chief, managing to keep up despite having just one-and-a-half legs. He'd had years of practice following the angry Haddock around.

"Not even close." Stoick growled, not even glancing at his old friend. Gobber nodded in understanding, hardly surprised. On Berk, one could count on two things: snow always fell before Snoggletog, and Stoick's expeditions always came back empty-handed and unsuccessful. "I hope you've at least had a little more success than me."

Gobber brightened, "Well, if by that you mean that your parenting troubles are over with, then… yes."

Stoick turned, giving Gobber a hard stare. "What are you on about?"

Someone clapped Stoick on the shoulder from behind, saying in passing, "Congratulations, Stoick! No one'll miss that old nuisance!"

Stoick flinched and looked back at the Viking in question, an older man with streaks of grey littering his black hair. The Viking never looked back, assimilating into the crowd of people.

It confused Stoick to no end. He would've thought it was obvious that they'd failed. There were no congratulations in order for him.

"What was that?"

"It's Hiccup, Stoick." Gobber said, smiling.

Stoick paused, connecting what the Viking had said to him. "He's gone?"

Gobber frowned, "Eh? No, 'e's not _gone!_"

"Then what could possibly—"

"He's _excellent,_ Stoick."

Stoick paused. "In training?"

"Yes! He can barely walk through the village without being _swarmed_ by his new fans." Gobber chanted, trapped in some sort of reverie and making an awe-full gesture.

Stoick couldn't believe what he was hearing. _"Hiccup?"_ he asked, grabbing Gobber by the shoulder and turning the blacksmith to face him and look him in the eye. There was no sign of pretense in Gobber's character, and yet Stoick still couldn't believe it.

"Who would've thought it, it's the strangest thing; he has this _way_ with the beasts!" Gobber declared, "All this time we were dead wrong about 'im, Stoick. He and Astrid are without a doubt the top of the class, and they're neck and neck."

Stoick fell silent, mouth hanging just a little bit open as he stared at everything around him. He and Gobber trekked up the ramp to the edge of the village proper, the silence finally broken by Gobber as he eyed the Chief with amusement. "Takes a minute to sink in, don't it?"

"I need to see him. Where is he?"

Gobber shrugged, "That's the thing—most afternoons now, he's nowhere to be found. But who can blame him, really—the life of a celebrity is very rough. Funny, you'd think he would love the attention. I'll say it's got Astrid in a bit of a stink, though."

"A stink?" Stoick asked, wanting clarification.

"Yes, she comes by the forge often, wondering where he's at. I don't want to get yer hopes up, Stoick, but I get a tingling feelin' that that boy of yours has turned your little contract into a love match." Gobber said.

Stoick's smile grew impossibly wider.

"Of course, they're still children, so there's no tellin'. But now I'm startin' to think you need to leave the village more often." Gobber joked. Stoick chuckled and they resumed walking heading up the ramps to head to the village proper.

"You say he's gone in the afternoons. Where might he go? I must speak with him."

"I couldn't tell ya, Stoick. You might find him at the forge tonight if he doesn't come home. Like I said, I don't know where he gets off to, but he's always back by nightfall, and he's always at training the next morning."

* * *

Astrid Hofferson's life had changed forever the night she learned she'd been engaged to Hiccup.

As it turned out, that wasn't the last change the skinny boy would bring about in her life, or even the biggest.

In the mornings, she was Astrid the prodigy, Astrid the next great dragon slayer, grappling with the son of the chief for the top spot in dragon training and the right to kill a dragon. During the rest of the day, she became Astrid the traitor, slipping away to a hidden cove in the western woods to spend her afternoon with a boy and a dragon.

It was her second trip to the cove, and already she was more comfortable with everything. Toothless was a constant bundle of joy and excitement, prancing around the cove after breakfast and begging Hiccup to go flying. She and Hiccup had made the dragon wait until they finished training.

It really was a relief to get back to their old routine of training together. Astrid had missed it terribly. Those few hours had been a key time of the day that she and Hiccup could spend time with only each other before their daily tasks bore down on them, and she hadn't realized just how much she'd enjoyed his company until she didn't have it anymore. The song of steel against steel was like a great ballad to her eardrums, and the dance of battle they seemed to perform when they sparred made her chest soar.

Once they were finished training, Hiccup took off with Toothless. They left Astrid to her own devices in the cove, and she ended up passing the time by studying the place, hoping to get a lay of the land. She examined the trees, the assorted fish that dwelled in the lake, and the ancient rocks that decorated the small inlet. Her surveying could only last so long, though, and when there was nothing else to admire, she forced herself to work on her axe throwing, finding a perfect section of a tree to practice with. It wasn't the eastern woods, but it was better than nothing. As expected, she hit her target every time, finding that her form was now more relaxed and that she felt more at ease.

She wondered why that was.

Hiccup and Toothless returned after about an hour, and the boy was beaming. "Yeah! That was awesome, Toothless!"

"How'd it go?" Astrid asked, stepping away from the tree she'd been practicing on and strapping her axe to her back.

"It was incredible! We flew faster than we've ever flown before and did all kinds of crazy flips and spins!" Hiccup rambled, shoulders bobbing as he flashed a lopsided grin, "The fin is really working out. You have to come with us next time."

Astrid frowned, still not keen on the idea of riding on the back of a dragon. "No thank you. I'm perfectly content having my feet on the ground where they belong."

Hiccup looked at her and frowned before shaking his head and changing the subject. "Anyway, I had an idea while we were up there. I want to teach you some of the tricks Toothless has taught me for dragon training."

Astrid, curious, approached Hiccup and Toothless, resorting to watching and learning. He showed her the sweet spot under Toothless' neck, rubbing and scratching the dragon's hide to distract it before pinching that spot and dropping Toothless to the ground. Hiccup showed her the special grass he'd been collecting, a strain he'd dubbed 'dragon nip', and Astrid marveled at how Toothless relaxed when the dragon caught the grass's scent.

When Hiccup used his hammer to catch the sunlight and lead Toothless of a fruitless chase to capture the reflection, Astrid had to cover her mouth with her hands to keep from laughing. The Night Fury was bouncing wildly, repeatedly hitting the ball of light running across the ground with his paws and struggling to comprehend how he couldn't catch it.

Toothless was, effectively, just an enormous housecat.

She was growing ever more comfortable with Toothless, and it was a massive relief for Hiccup. Astrid worked on these tricks for most of the remaining day, Toothless being a very willing participant since it meant an abundance of chin scratches.

Hiccup later led Toothless on an evening flight, and when they returned, he and Astrid were off, leaving the cove behind and heading for the village.

"So, what do you think?" Hiccup asked. The sun was on its way down, its orange glow split into fragments by the tall forms of the trees around them. The evening light fell in shafts around them, shining as a cold breeze blew through the forest.

"You don't have to keep checking up on me, Hiccup. I'm not going to tell anyone." Astrid said, effectively not answering his question.

"I know, because I trust you, Astrid. I just want to know what you think about Toothless… about me being friends with a dragon." Hiccup clarified.

Astrid thought for a moment. "It's… it's a lot to take in, really."

"I know. And I'm sorry for hiding it from you. But I swear that this is all for a good reason. Dragons aren't bad, I know they aren't."

Astrid frowned. "Hiccup… I want to believe that. I believe Toothless is good, but that doesn't convince me that an entire species is good. For all we know, Toothless is an exception to the rule."

Hiccup sulked. She trusted him but didn't believe him. How could he show Astrid that he was right? He'd seen that Toothless wasn't an exception, but she hadn't. He thought back to his meetings with other good dragons, back to the Terrible Terrors from the sea stack and the Nadder in the Kill Ring.

_That's it. The Nadder._

"You're right. Can you meet me tonight?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid flinched, flustered. "What? Why?"

"I'm going to prove to you that Toothless isn't the exception." Hiccup explained cryptically. "But I need you to meet me at the forge tonight."

Astrid inspected him, puzzled. His emerald eyes were burning with this sort of conviction, and it strangely inspired her. She was painfully curious, "Alright. I don't know what you're up to, but alright. I'll slip out after dinner."

Hiccup grinned. "Thank you, Astrid. You won't regret this, I promise."

They passed through the break in the trees and the village of Berk came into view, dimly lit by the setting sun. Their paths would split from here.

Astrid punched him on the arm, grinning and bidding farewell before running off down the hill towards her home. Hiccup rubbed his arm and watched her go, realizing how much he'd missed her punches. It was a bizarre thought, but it was an irreplaceable part of Astrid.

Grinning, he headed to his house, carefree and not even remotely aware of what was waiting for him when he returned.

* * *

Hiccup slipped through the back door like he'd done a thousand times before, listening to the familiar creak of wood as the door swung open. He was grinning, the details of his plan rushing through his head.

So lost was he, that he didn't hear the crackle of the fire in the hearth, or see the hulking shape seated beside it.

He stiffened the instant he heard his father's voice. "Hiccup."

Hiccup's gaze snapped up, taking in the image of Stoick the Vast in all his glory from across the room. The enormous Chief lifted off of his seat and towered above him, the fire in the hearth reflecting off of his magnificent red beard.

"Dad! You're back!" Hiccup stammered, all of a sudden shrinking into himself, "I-I-I—"

"I've been waiting for you. Sit." Stoick said, huge hands rising to his muscular hips. Nervously, Hiccup trudged over to the seat across the hearth, sitting down into the stare of Stoick the Vast. Without a beat of hesitation, Stoick continued. "We need to talk."

Hiccup rubbed the back of his head, nervous. "We do?"

"You've been keeping secrets, son." Stoick held him in this stone-cold look, trapping Hiccup in the chair.

"I… I have?"

"Just how long did you think you could hide from me?" Stoick inquired.

It suddenly grew hot in the room. Hiccup's finger found the end of his shirt collar and he tugged, tapping the fingers of his free hand on the armrest of his seat.

"Dad, I-I… I'm afraid I don't know…"

"Stop. _Nothing_ happens on this island without me hearing about it." Stoick said, voice low and suspicious. "So, let's talk… about that dragon."

Hiccup froze. His dad knew. Somehow, his dad knew, _oh,_ he was in _so much _trouble.

"Oh, gods. D-Dad, I swear, I was going to tell you—"

Stoick _laughed._ The tension in his voice dissipated and Stoick moved a brawny hand to his stomach as he threw his head back to release a thunderous chortle.

Hiccup laughed along with him, supremely awkward. Now he was beyond confused. "You… you're not mad?"

"What?" Stoick snapped, green eyes glowing with some otherworldly thrill. "Mad? No! I was hoping for this!" His thrilled shout made Hiccup nearly curl up into the chair, feeling smaller than ever. Stoick paced around the room, laughing spasmodically as he _rambled._

"And believe me, son, it only gets better!" Stoick assured him, "Just wait until you get a _real_ taste of battle—just wait 'til you spill a Nadder's guts for the first time, or mount your first Gronckle head on a spear! What a feeling!"

Hiccup retreated into himself harder than he probably ever had before. He understood now. His dad was raving about his _success_ in dragon training. He thought that Hiccup was revealing himself as some sort of prodigious dragon killer.

He thought that Hiccup was revealing himself to be the ideal son that he'd always wanted.

Stoick looked at Hiccup again, grinning wider than he'd ever seen. It was like looking up at a giant. "Oh, you should've seen your face, son! You really had me going there, my boy! After what happened in the last raid, I almost gave up on you, but you were holding out on me the whole time! _Tied_ with Astrid Hofferson in dragon training, oh, Thor Almighty!"

The comment made Hiccup flinch. His father had almost _given up_ on him. What was that even supposed to _mean?_

_Sorry, son, I was considering cutting you loose after all of your shenanigans, but now that I mistakenly think that you're the next great dragon killer, well, welcome back to the family!_

Stoick calmed down and scrambled back into his seat, not noticing as it squeaked when he collapsed into it. The flame in the hearth continued to burn and Stoick leaned forward, barely feeling its heat as he stared into Hiccup. The boy hadn't moved, still frozen by his own discomfort.

"And with you doing so well in the ring, well… we _finally_ have something to talk about." Stoick whispered. He somehow leaned even further forward, grinning and expecting Hiccup to regale him with a tale of how he'd beat a Deadly Nadder into submission or made a Gronckle roll over in defeat.

The duality of the room could not have been stronger. Stoick was probably happier than Hiccup had ever seen him in his entire life, unable to keep from grinning ear to ear and scooting closer to Hiccup as if he were a guest hearing a legendary saga from some village elder. Hiccup, meanwhile, was probably more uncomfortable than he'd ever been. His dad had essentially—though unknowingly—thrown all of his lies and deception and secrecy into his face.

He now understood how Astrid felt, if from a slightly different perspective.

Hiccup didn't speak, paralyzed by everything hitting him at once. Stoick again inched closer, grinning, but his son's discomfort appeared to dawn on him. A torch flickered on in the chief's head and he reached into a small sack he'd brought sitting at the foot of his chair. "Oh, that reminds me. Here, I… I brought you something. To keep you safe… i-in the ring."

Hiccup's eyes nearly popped out of his head when Stoick revealed a helmet, fit with horns and all, and handed it to him. Hiccup had always wanted one of his own, but he'd never had one, never been seen as Vikingly enough to have his own like the twins or Snotlout. He knew that Astrid particularly hated these helmets, preferring to leave her hair in its usual braids and her kransen in place.

"I-I-I don't know what to say. Thank you." Hiccup stammered. He brushed his fingers against the sturdy metal, eyes glowing with admiration.

"Ah, your mother would've wanted you to have it. It's half of her breastplate."

That stopped Hiccup's hand where it was, stroking the material of the helmet. He looked up at Stoick, stunned and honestly a tad horrified.

Stoick didn't seem fazed and tapped his own helmet, "Matching set… it keeps her close, you know?"

Hiccup carefully set the helmet in his lap, sitting deathly still for a few seconds before stretching his arms out in feigned exhaustion. He threw in a yawn for good measure, he _badly_ needed an out.

"Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I need to run to the forge and finish a couple of things for Gobber." Hiccup lied.

Stoick, seemingly alarmed, stood up quickly and backed off, "Oh, yes, sorry. Great talk. Good. I'll get out of your hair…"

"Great to see you in one piece, and, uh, thanks for the, uh…"

"The hat."

"The breast hat. I love it."

Stoick leaned back in his seat, straightening his huge back and averting his gaze from Hiccup. Still so terribly uncomfortable, Hiccup briskly walked out of the common room, setting the helmet down on the kitchen counter and heading for the door.

He had just fastened his hand around the door handle when Stoick spoke again.

"Oh, and Hiccup?"

Hiccup stiffened, turning back to look at his father through his periphery, "Yeah, Dad?"

"I'm proud of you, son."

Hiccup refused to meet Stoick's eyes, too conflicted by his father's beaming pride and his big, dark secret. So, he merely said, "Thanks, Dad," and disappeared out the door, closing it behind him and wincing. His hands raised up and grabbed at shoots of auburn hair on his head, and Hiccup gently pulled at them as he grimaced, biting his lip as the guilt poured down on him.

His father was finally proud of him, and it was all because of a lie.


	16. Good Dragons

**_16\. Good Dragons_**

Hiccup fled to the forge and shut himself in his little room, pulling the curtain closed to hide himself from the world. He lit a candle on the desk and slumped into his chair, sighing loudly in the quiet room.

He forced himself to cheer up. Now was not the time to feel sorry for himself.

Hiccup's thoughts turned to Astrid and his plan for tonight. He was going to prove to her that dragons were good, that they weren't the vicious beasts that everyone said they were.

And eventually, he was going to get her to fly with him on Toothless.

Fixing himself on that idea, he ripped off a page of parchment and grabbed a charcoal pen, devising plans for a larger saddle that could fit two people.

The time flew by and before he knew it, he heard footsteps just outside his room. Cautious as ever, Hiccup slid the drawings of Toothless to the far corner of his desk.

"Hiccup?" Astrid's voice called from the main area of the forge.

"In here." Hiccup said, instantly relaxing. An instant later, the curtain shifted and Astrid slipped inside, closing it back behind her.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Astrid glanced around the room, noting that it was still a mess, and her eyes fixed on the wall.

"Wow."

Astrid gestured at the wall, where a large parchment bearing designs for Toothless' prosthetic. Hiccup eyed the enlarged drawings and snorted. He was worried about the drawings he'd made of Toothless, when the truly damning evidence was the schematic on the wall.

It practically served as a confession.

"I suppose it's probably about time for some redecorating," he joked. Astrid smiled.

"Did you see your dad?"

"Yeah, he was home, and we had a _riveting_ discussion about my exploits in dragon training." Hiccup groaned.

Astrid got the message and frowned. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. I'll get over it."

Astrid eyed him cautiously. She could see that he didn't want to talk about his dad. "Alright, spill. What are you planning?"

"You'll see. Just follow me." Hiccup insisted. He quickly put everything away and they left the forge, hugging the outskirts of the village and heading toward the Kill Ring. Astrid surprisingly didn't question Hiccup as they went, ducking behind houses and sticking to the shadows. They were both well aware of the unsubstantiated rumors that flew throughout the village about them—most of the time Berk simply had nothing better to do—and they definitely didn't want to deal with more as a result of being spotted out alone late at night.

Astrid finally spoke when they reached the arena, standing in front of the heavy metal grate that served as a door.

"What are we doing here, Hiccup?"

Hiccup tugged on the lever that lifted the gate blocking off the arena's entrance ramp from the pathway and turned back to Astrid. "I told you, I'm proving that it's not just Toothless. I'm telling you that dragons are good, and now I'm going to show you."

Astrid followed Hiccup into the ring and as he began walking towards one of the heavy doors on the wall, she slung more questions at him, "How? By releasing one from its cage?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Astrid scoffed, her face a mask of shock. "Hiccup, they'll escape if you do that! And then we'll be in loads of trouble!" she hissed.

"Just trust me, Astrid. We'll be fine."

Before Astrid could protest, Hiccup walked up to one of the cells, grabbing one of the levers that controlled the door's locking mechanism. Astrid instinctively reached for her axe and Hiccup pulled the lever, throwing open the door and releasing the dragon inside.

The Deadly Nadder came charging out, spotting Astrid first and racing over with a squawk. Astrid yelped and grabbed her axe, raising it up to strike.

"Astrid, no!" Hiccup half-shouted, hoping his voice wouldn't carry beyond the ring. The Nadder skidded to a stop and instantly became defensive, its tail curving up and readying its spines.

Hiccup came running, and his footsteps caught the Nadder's attention. The spooked dragon leveled its tail in Hiccup's direction, squawking in concern as it felt cornered. Hiccup threw his hands up, showing that he had no weapon, and the Nadder immediately seemed to relax, if only just a little.

"Hey, there. Remember me?" Hiccup cooed. He took a few steps closer and the Nadder again grew on edge. Hiccup cooed again, "Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." The Nadder's pupils flickered between narrowed and a calmer, rounded shape.

Astrid gaped as the Nadder relaxed and allowed Hiccup to approach it. She knew he was good, or at least assumed it, but not _this_ good. Toothless was one thing, but she'd never seen him with another dragon.

Hiccup gently petted the Nadder, stroking his hand lovingly over its scales. "There we go, that's it. There's nothing to be afraid of. You're a good girl, aren't you?"

The Nadder squawked lightly again, further amazing Astrid. "I've got someone else for you to meet. She wants to say hello, but she's a little scared of you. I know you might be a little scared of her, too, so we're gonna try to change that, okay?"

Hiccup started to lead the Nadder toward Astrid, and as soon as the dragon saw Astrid with her axe, the beast grew tense again.

"Astrid, get rid of your axe." Hiccup instructed, "Now."

"I'd really be more comfortable if—"

"Astrid."

Astrid huffed and set the axe on the ground, standing back up weaponless. The Nadder's attitude didn't change.

"Now you need to get it away from you. She's not going to come close if you can just grab a weapon and hurt her the minute she does." Hiccup explained. Astrid studied him, disbelieving. "Remember Toothless? He was furious until we got that axe away from you. He never would've calmed down if you'd held onto it. Just move the axe away from you. It won't go anywhere."

Astrid couldn't argue against the logic, so she stuck her foot underneath the blade of her axe and kicked it to the side away from her, cringing at the clang of metal on stone. She hoped she didn't damage the blade any.

The Nadder watched the axe bounce away, and she inexplicably relaxed, turning a now-calm yellow eye on Astrid. A squawk escaped the dragon's throat.

"There we go. Now, we're gonna go say hi, okay?" Hiccup explained to the dragon. He stroked its scales again and gently started to lead the Nadder toward Astrid. Astrid noted the much-calmer footfalls of the dragon on its too-big legs. Hiccup got the two of them within an arm's reach and stopped, stepping a pace away from the dragon. The Nadder squawked worriedly.

"It's okay, it's okay. This is my friend, girl. I'm sure you remember her, and I know she's hurt you in the past, but she really does want to get to know you." Hiccup said. He turned to Astrid, "Show her your hands and get her to smell one. She has to get familiar with your scent."

Astrid did as she was told, showing that she had no weapon and extending her right arm a little further towards the dragon, certain that it would suddenly clamp down and rip her arm clean off. Instead, the beast sniffed, mustering a gentle squawk and then smelling more intently. Little by little, the Nadder relaxed.

"Alright, she's more relaxed now. Try talking to her." Hiccup instructed.

"Hey, girl. It's nice to meet you." Astrid tried, feeling monumentally stupid in the act, "I'm Astrid. Hiccup says that you guys aren't all that bad, and I'd like to believe him. Mainly because it would be nice to live in a world where I don't have to go to sleep wondering if my house will catch on fire that night."

The Nadder squawked.

"And I know that I'm not exactly your favorite Viking, but I'd love it if we could put that aside and be friends. How does that sound?"

The Nadder looked at Astrid as easily as she could and squawked again.

Then she pressed her snout to Astrid's hand, exhaling a breath of warm air onto Astrid's arm. Astrid's senses nearly went haywire and she stifled a laugh that ended up coming out more like a choked sob, but there was nothing but joy on her face.

"What did I tell you?" Hiccup said.

Astrid silently marveled. The Nadder stayed put, opening its shut eyes and squawking before pulling away. Spurred on by sheer curiosity, Astrid stepped forward and started to scratch the Nadder's neck. The dragon stopped and purred, stretching out its neck to give Astrid the most surface area to attend to.

"How can they be so different than what we're used to? I don't understand." Astrid asked, looking back to Hiccup.

"I'm telling you, it's all because of how aggressive Vikings are. The dragons go in self-defense mode and fight to survive." Hiccup said.

"But… that doesn't explain the raids. Why would they raid if they just wanted to be left alone?"

"I wish I had an answer for that." Hiccup lamented, "But you see my point. Dragons aren't bad. They're not what we're told they are. Does this Nadder look 'extremely dangerous' to you? Does she deserve to be killed on sight? Because I don't think so."

"No… I guess not." Astrid said, trying to ignore the buzzing conflict in her head. She turned to another question, "So, why did you pick her out of all the dragons you could've shown me?"

"Easy. Go look at her right side." Hiccup answered. He walked with Astrid around the dragon, who surprisingly stood still and merely watched them with a curious golden eye. Astrid knew exactly what she was going to see, but it still surprised her when she got a look at the scar. The wound from her axe many months ago had long since healed, but it had left a blemish in the dragon's flesh. It was faint, difficult to see if one weren't specifically looking, and judging by the Nadder's regular movements it wasn't a source of pain or difficulty.

"You hurt her a long time ago, just like I hurt Toothless. And yet Toothless and I trust each other with everything we have." Hiccup explained, "It's not a debilitating injury, sure, but the memory doesn't just go away. If I could get this Nadder to trust _you,_ my point will have been proven."

She looked back at the Nadder. The dragon was watching her persistently, and a little squawk escaped from the Nadder's throat as she recognized the eye contact.

"She's beautiful." Astrid commented, examining the Nadder's blue scales. Even in the subpar conditions she was surely being kept in, the dragon's coat was well-groomed and shined a little in the moonlight.

"She is one pretty dragon." Hiccup agreed, feeling the words _perfect for you _on the edge of his tongue. He stopped himself from saying it. He would probably sound stupid. "We should probably get going soon. I'd rather not field questions from my dad about where I've been."

"Me neither." Astrid agreed. "C'mon, girl, let's get you back inside."

The Nadder squawked unhappily, not keen to return to her dark and lonely cage. After some sweet-talking and coaxing, the dragon reluctantly began to walk back to its pen, any spring in her step now gone.

"I'm sorry, girl. But we can't take you to the cove because the village will have a fit about their Nadder escaping." Astrid explained. "We'll figure something out, okay?"

The Nadder squawked, and before stepping into its cell, reached over and preened Astrid, cooing sweetly as she straightened the Viking girl's messy blonde hair. Astrid froze at the contact, an odd chill crawling up her spine at the sensation of the dragon's teeth grazing her head. When she was satisfied with the state of Astrid's hair, the Nadder padded into the cell. Hiccup pulled the lever up, swinging the doors shut and automatically lowering the weights that locked them in place.

As they left, Astrid glanced back at the shut cell a good three times, some unconscious part of her hoping that the doors would swing open and the Nadder would escape. Clouds rumbled off in the distance, heralding a winter rainstorm. Astrid imagined the Nadder flying off into the clouds, fearless and free and daring the storm to just try and strike her down.

She decided that she liked that dragon.

* * *

Dragon training the next morning turned out to be a bit of a mess.

The class was steadily narrowing to a close, its final lessons on the horizon. One more test with each captive dragon class remained, with the exception of the Monstrous Nightmare. The teens would only see that final dragon when the best of them went to slay it.

And the best two recruits far and away were Astrid and Hiccup. The controversy had stirred in the Great Hall as Berk's population replenished with the return of the expedition, spouting rumors and storylines galore. The village gossips, it turned out, were most thrilled that the top two recruits were also betrothed. It really was the perfect story, a contest between two lovers for the right to kill their first dragon.

Today's test was with the Gronckle. The arena's setup was standard, featuring a few dozen barriers to crouch behind and hide from the dragon's sight. The Gronckle buzzed around the ring, quickly rooting out the twins and Fishlegs.

A crowd had gathered to watch the lesson, and they cheered incessantly as the Gronckle cut the competition in half. It was Berk's favorite kind of game, with the only rule down in the arena being that there were no rules until someone incapacitated the dragon.

Hiccup looked up from the barrier he was hiding behind and saw his father gently squeeze past another Viking to get a spot on the front row, just so happening to be standing right by Hiccup. Stoick the Vast offered a smile and the slightest wave, the pride in his face clear. Hiccup half-heartedly waved back, nudging his new helmet further up on his head as it tried to slide down. It was still a little big, not quite fitting his frame. He hoped he would grow into it soon.

Hiccup looked back over his shoulder, spotting the Gronckle with its back turned to him. He took the chance to hop over the barrier, silently thanking Thor as he cleared the hurdle without making a sound and dove behind the next one. He was about to move up again when Snotlout stood up from a barrier along the right edge of the arena. Snotlout snapped something obscene at the dragon and lifted the light wooden barrier, spinning and throwing it at the dragon. The wood splintered as it struck the Gronckle's tough hide, shattering into countless shards.

The Gronckle wasn't fazed in the slightest and turned on Snotlout, thundering forward and launching a ball of magma at the Jorgenson. Snotlout yelped and jumped back, though not far enough to avoid the blast radius of the Gronckle's fire. Gobber quickly determined Snotlout was out, leaving only Hiccup and Astrid in the running.

Both of them stood up from their hiding places at the same time, banging their weapons against their shields as they stood on opposite sides of the ring. The Gronckle flicked its attention back and forth between them, weighing its options before ultimately deciding to attack Hiccup.

"Well, so much for being seen as sick or insane." Hiccup drawled to himself. He had hoped the dragon would go after Astrid instead. The Gronckle let loose a blast of fire and Hiccup quickly dove to the side, nearly losing his grip on his shield in the process. The Gronckle ducked its thick head and charged, miniature wings beating nonstop as it dove in.

Hiccup quickly reached to his pocket and exchanged his shield for a small bunch of dragon nip. The shield clattered to the ground and Hiccup thrust the special grass into the Gronckle's face, immediately attracting the dragon's full attention. Its eyes went wide and Hiccup jammed his hand into the Gronckle's snout, furiously rubbing the dragon nip against its skin and tipping the burly dragon over. Hoping to sell the ruse, he buried the pommel of his sword into the dragon's skull.

The crowd erupted, unaware of Hiccup's little trick. All they saw was the village screw-up defying the odds and incapacitating a dragon. Gobber hobbled inside the arena as the crowd cheered and Astrid approached, her shield and weapon relaxed at each of her sides.

"Nice work. But I'm winning the next one." Astrid challenged. Hiccup grinned, and Gobber dragged the Gronckle toward its pen. "Heading to the cove?"

"Hiccup!" Stoick bellowed from the entrance, footsteps thundering as he walked closer to Hiccup and Astrid. Up above, the crowd quickly dispersed.

"I'll meet you there." Hiccup said before turning towards Stoick. He put on a forced smile, exaggerating his emotions, "Dad!"

Astrid stepped away and Stoick replaced her, grabbing Hiccup and tugging him into a fierce, constricting hug. The chief laughed with a brief, triumphant roar, "That's my boy! The scourge of dragon-kind!"

Hiccup sighed to himself. If only that were true.

"I won't keep you, son. We'll talk later." Stoick insisted. Hiccup obeyed, walking past his father to the open gates. Before he could disappear around the corner, Stoick called out to him one more time.

"Hiccup! I'm proud of you, son!"

Hiccup shivered, his father's gushing pride bringing him physical pain. His father was prouder than he'd ever been, and Hiccup had done nothing to earn it but lie and cheat and deceive. Hiccup nodded stoically, the way a Viking should, and stalked out of the ring, stopping only when his ears twitched at the sound of his father's voice.

"Gobber! You've done wonders with that one. Who would've thought it?"

The blacksmith shook his head, raising his hands (well, hand and hook) up to absolve himself of the praise. "That was not my doing, Stoick. That there is a gift from the gods."

"But you brought it out, you old grump!" Stoick insisted, "Can you believe it? All those years of the worst Viking that Berk had ever seen! Odin, it was rough! And the whispers were all true. Why, if someone had told me that in a few short weeks, Hiccup would go from being—well, _Hiccup_—to the top of dragon training, well I'd have tied them to a mast and shipped them off for fear they'd gone mad!"

Hiccup's chest seized as Stoick's words rang in his ears.

"He's learned, Gobber. After all this time, he's finally learned, and he's spectacular. He's everything I'd ever hoped he'd be." Stoick gushed, "I haven't been so happy since the day he was born. He's going to change the course of this tribe forever, I just know it. He will make a fine chief one day."

"I believe ye, Stoick. The boy's something else." Gobber agreed, "But don't count Astrid out jus' yet. She'll fight like a devil to win this thing."

"It will be interesting, old friend, that's for sure. And yet no matter the outcome, I'll be satisfied. We'll soon have two great young warriors join our ranks, and that is all that Berk can ask for."

Hiccup walked out of earshot now, focused on reaching the cove. He expertly slipped away from the large crowds in the village, luckily avoiding any uncomfortable congratulations or celebrations from the villagers. He wasn't deserving of their praise.

Astrid was the warrior, the _real_ dragon fighting prodigy. She'd trained nonstop for years to perfect her craft, fine tuning every miniscule detail to become a flawless weapon of war. She didn't deserve to lose to the likes of him, who couldn't kill a dragon for the life of him and had no desire to.

He didn't hold a candle to her.

One way or another, Hiccup was not winning dragon training.

* * *

Hiccup dropped into the cove to find Astrid already there. Toothless was eagerly accosting her, fervently sniffing every inch of her for something. Hiccup took a few more steps closer and the Night Fury's head snapped up, black pupils widening before the dragon bounded over excitedly. Hiccup stooped down and brushed Toothless' scales with his fingers.

"Hey, bud. What are you bothering Astrid about?" Hiccup asked. Toothless warbled with a hint of shock as if to say _'who, me?'_

"I brought a fish with me for him to snack on. He's trying to find more." Astrid explained, walking over with a bright smile.

Hiccup looked down on Toothless like a parent would a naughty toddler, "Now, Toothless, you can very well see that Astrid isn't hiding fish from you. Luckily for you, I have breakfast."

Hiccup slung a heavy sack of fish off of his back and tipped it over. Toothless warbled excitedly and dug greedily through the pile of food, lips smacking as he gulped down each individual fish in no more than a few bites.

"So, what's up?" Astrid asked, walking away from the dragon with the boy.

"Oh, you know, the usual." Hiccup groaned, "I go to dragon training, trick everyone into thinking I'm some dragon fighting prodigy, my dad tells me he's proud of me, the whole nine yards. Great day in the life of me."

Hiccup slumped down onto a flat stone that functioned as a perfect seat, leaning forward and tightly gripping his auburn hair in his fingers. Astrid frowned and sat down beside him, perplexed.

"Isn't this what you've always wanted?"

Hiccup sighed, "I'm lying to them, Astrid. Of course I've always wanted the village's praise—my _dad's_ praise—but I always wanted to earn it honestly. And now I have everything I ever wanted, but I'm so deep in my own lies that I can't get out. Dad told me he was proud of me, Astrid. I've never seen him so happy before. And he has no idea. None of them do. I can't fight dragons. And I want to tell him the truth, but know that I can't. He would hate me, cast me out, and then I'd be all alone again."

Astrid was quiet, looking down at her feet as she thought about her response. She didn't feel comfortable saying that if he were cast out, that she would follow.

"I'm sorry." Astrid started, "I can't even imagine your situation. I didn't expect it to get you down so much."

"It isn't your fault. I shouldn't have been such an idiot, using the things I learned from Toothless to succeed in training. I didn't even want to fight dragons anymore, but I still got shoved into the class." Hiccup lamented, "I'm not like the rest of them, Astrid."

"I know you aren't. And that's what makes you better." Astrid replied, "You built a system that'll keep our houses from burning down ever again. You built a prosthetic fin to help a dragon fly again. No one on Berk is as smart as you, or as kind, or considerate. I know that this is a tough time. But we'll get through it. We'll figure things out."

Hiccup's head nearly exploded when he felt Astrid's hand on his, gently covering his right hand where it sat on the flat stone. He looked to her and she smiled thinly, and he focused on the surprising warmth radiating from her hand. Her skin was unexpectedly soft, slightly calloused in some places from years of gripping the handle of her axe.

Astrid pulled her hand away a moment later. "Can I ask you a favor?"

Hiccup affixed his eyes on her, controlling his urge to stutter. "Of course."

"I want to go see that Nadder again tonight, if we can. Could you help me?"

Hiccup's eyes widened. "Oh, you do? Y-yeah, of course I'll help. She really seemed to like you last night."

"I think I like her, too." Astrid admitted, "She's a good dragon."

Toothless interrupted them by bounding over, tongue lolling around and breath stinking of fish. The jet-black dragon wriggled and warbled expectantly, nudging Hiccup's leg with his wide head.

"Hey, bud. Ready to go flying?" Hiccup asked. Toothless bounded excitedly, powerful tail swinging back and forth. Hiccup and Astrid both stood off of the stone and the skinny boy prepared to mount the dragon, turning back to Astrid before he did so.

"Wanna come with?" he asked shortly, gesturing to the saddle.

"Nope." Astrid replied, "I'll just hang out here and work on my axe throws."

Hiccup shrugged and hopped onto Toothless' back. "Your loss." he teased before patting Toothless' neck, "Up, bud!"

Toothless exploded into the air, kicking up a wind in his wake that nearly knocked Astrid off of her feet. Hiccup allowed himself a brief snicker as he heard her yelp in surprise, turning to look back and watching the blonde turn her nose up at boy and dragon and scowl playfully, gesturing with her hands to mockingly threaten revenge.

Hiccup grinned, waving, and then gave in to the air.

* * *

Something had to change, Hiccup thought as he stood guard outside the arena. His eyes were fixed on the sleeping village, carefully watching so that he could warn Astrid if anyone started heading their way. A level below him, safely inside the arena, he heard Astrid giggling softly. The Deadly Nadder she'd become so fond of squawked, and he heard Astrid shush the dragon. She seemed to understand, vocalizing much more quietly in response.

Flying with Toothless earlier in the day and spending every waking moment afterwards in Astrid's company had kept his spirits up. Now that he was essentially alone with his thoughts, Hiccup's mind raced. Astrid's desire to visit the Nadder again had suddenly sparked a faint hope in his heart. She was friends with the dragon now, and that meant he had changed her mind about dragons as a whole, right? Despite being wounded by Astrid's own hand, the Nadder had gladly forgiven her and—near as Hiccup could tell—doted on the blonde as if she were her hatchling.

If he could change _Astrid's_ mind—a born warrior who had worked her entire life towards killing dragons, could he change other minds? Say, the rest of Berk? Hiccup was starting to think so, although it obviously wouldn't be easy.

But it was worth a shot if he could prevent any dragons from being killed by Berkian hands ever again.

"_Hey, stop that, girl."_ Astrid giggled from down below. The Nadder squawked quietly and Hiccup glanced over his shoulder. The vibrantly-colored dragon was insistently trying to groom Astrid's bangs out of her face. Astrid giggled and tried to shield her face, but the Nadder succeeded and additionally dashed an inch of her tongue across Astrid's cheek affectionately.

"_Okay, fine, here you go."_ Astrid relented, tossing a fish up into the air. The Nadder squawked and eagerly snatched the fish from midair, swallowing it greedily.

Hiccup never would've believed it if he wasn't watching it happen right now. He looked up ahead again, breath hitching as he spotted a Viking walking down the road in the village. That was his cue.

"Astrid!" he hissed. She looked up from the dragon to him. "We could have company. Time to go."

Astrid's shoulders sagged and she looked at the Nadder. "Sorry, girl, that's the end of this visit. Let's head back to your pen."

The Nadder crooned sadly, but followed, obediently heading into her cell. Astrid closed the door as quietly as she could and slinked out of the arena, linking up with Hiccup and keeping to the shadows to avoid being seen.

They split at the usual area and headed their separate ways, though Hiccup watched her carefully before walking into his house, keen to make sure that she got home safely before he went inside. Astrid glided across the ground to her house, heading around the back of the building and grabbing onto some handholds to scale the wall and safely enter her room, making it appear as if she'd never left to begin with. Hiccup scoffed. Why didn't he have something like that on the wall leading up to his bedroom window?

Luckily for Hiccup, Stoick was fast asleep when he entered, the hearth reduced to a few stubborn coals as darkness prevailed over the house. The chief had been out cold when Hiccup had left and was still that way now, eager to get as much sleep as he possibly could before the next day brought another mountain of chiefly duties.

Hiccup crept up to his room and quietly crawled into bed, finally releasing his breath as he made it the distance without stepping on a single creaky floorboard. Hiccup forced his eyes shut and tried to drift off, but soon found that he couldn't. His mind was too busy, racing through a thousand ideas and hypotheticals and plans that all came back to the same insistent awareness.

Something had to change on Berk, or he had to _leave_ Berk.


	17. Contact

**Hello again, I'm back with a big chapter. I'm excited about this one. Everything is about to change for Astrid and Hiccup, but how?**

**Please consider leaving a review after you read, I really loved writing this chapter and want to know what you guys think about it. As always, thanks for reading!**

* * *

**_17\. Contact_**

The doors flew open and the Deadly Nadder burst from the cell, not impeded in the least by its too-big legs. The dragon's scaly tail clicked, and its spines raised to attention, the dragon taking in its two foes with curious eyes.

Astrid stood beside Hiccup in the empty arena, armed with her axe in one hand and a shield in the other. Hiccup was armed much the same, horned helmet on his head and a sword and shield in either of his hands. A huge crowd of people surrounded them from above, all of them watching eagerly to see which recruit would come out on top in this final test. There were no barricades, no safety nets, and no rules; whoever brought the dragon down first would be declared the winner.

It was the final lesson. As promised, Astrid had won the exercise with the Zippleback yesterday, setting up a tiebreaker between her and Hiccup.

The Nadder squawked in recognition and relaxed, knowing the two recruits as the ones who had come to visit and feed her for the last few nights. The dragon was especially fond of the blonde, although the boy with auburn hair admittedly gave better chin and neck scratches.

"_Rawk?"_

"Uh oh." Astrid muttered. The Nadder likely wasn't going to understand, at least at first, that they were supposed to fight.

Hiccup sighed, quickly suggesting a solution. "Time to make her mad."

He beat his sword against his wooden shield, producing a harsh sound that irritated the Nadder's ears.

Astrid yelled and ran forward with her axe, startling the Nadder enough that the dragon hissed back at her and prepared to attack. First, the Nadder launched a volley of spines into Astrid's path, but the young blonde warrior rolled out of the way.

The Nadder lifted off with a _thump_ of its wings, taking to the air to avoid any attacks from the two recruits. Astrid returned to her feet and watched Hiccup charge after the dragon, prompting the beast to land and counterattack. The Nadder fired another cluster of sharp spines from her tail in Hiccup's direction, and the boy deftly raised his shield to absorb the blow. The spines buried themselves in the wood, sparing Hiccup from their venom.

Astrid jumped back into the fray. She'd promised Hiccup that she would win dragon training, and she intended to keep that promise despite her newfound secret friendship with the Deadly Nadder. The Nadder squawked with surprise and readied a bolt of magnesium fire. Astrid dodged to the side, feeling a beam of heat radiate from her side and scorch the stone floor, and continued her charge.

Astrid locked her fingers around the handhold under her shield and did a quick spin, using her momentum and letting go of the shield to send the reinforced wooden ring flying at the Nadder. The shield spun like a disc, and Astrid allowed herself the slightest hint of beaming pride at the successful maneuver before regaining her hardened, neutral scowl. The Nadder squawked and the shield connected, shattering into little pieces of wood. She grimaced, wings lowering and head shaking to dull the pain.

Astrid leaped and pressed her foot against the dragon's lowered wing, bounding up and onto the Nadder's neck. The Nadder squawked in terror and flailed, but Astrid grabbed onto the crown of spines to hold herself steady.

The Nadder turned its head, catching a glimpse of Astrid with one of its eyes. The dragon's pupil expanded slightly, and a gentle squawk escaped its throat. Astrid actually felt a little bad, now.

"Hi, girl. Sorry in advance." Astrid said quickly. There were a lot of people, and she couldn't allow them to spot her lapse in aggression. Working with swift hands, Astrid curled her axe around the Nadder's neck and pulled, using her free hand to reach for the pressure point that Hiccup had shown her. Once she had a firm hold, she delivered a wicked pinch. The Nadder slipped to the ground in response, and Astrid jerked her body to make it appear as if she were wrestling the dragon to the ground.

Astrid snapped her head upward as the dragon slumped into the ground, forcing herself to bare her teeth and sell the ruse. The crowd gasped and approving whispers circulated through the body of spectators. Hiccup watched her with a similar surprise. The crowd suddenly began to cheer, and Astrid looked up, her heart swelling at the praise as the Nadder dozed at her feet.

"Alright, quiet down, quiet down!" Stoick's voice bellowed over the din, "It's time! The Elder has decided!"

Hiccup trotted up beside Astrid as she stepped off of the Nadder's neck, casting an eye to the dozing Nadder. It seemed that her trick had worked. Astrid and Hiccup both turned to look up towards the Chief and the Elder as Gobber approached them from behind.

"Nice work." Hiccup whispered, eyes averted to the Elder and his father. Astrid allowed herself to smile and Gobber raised his hand over Hiccup's head, silently asking the Elder if she favored him.

The Elder lightly shook her head, as silent as ever. The crowd whispered wildly, absurd rumors surely already flying. Astrid saw Hiccup look at the ground, faking a dejected look.

Gobber raised his metal hook over Astrid's head next, and the Elder nodded, a hint of a grin appearing on her old face.

The crowd erupted and Astrid immediately brightened. Gobber grabbed her shoulder with his hook, yelling happily. "You've done it, Astrid! You get to kill the dragon!"

The other teens rushed her, and Astrid felt herself be suddenly lifted by Fishlegs and Snotlout. The crowd chanted her name approvingly, and Astrid raised her axe over her head.

"_YAAAAAAH!"_ she hollered, sunlight reflecting off the metal blade of her axe. She brushed her bangs out of her face and grinned from ear to ear, the crowd continuing to shower her with praise.

Astrid looked around, still being held up in the others' arms, and searched for Hiccup. The others had stormed past him, leaving him standing alone on the floor of the arena. She found him easily, and her heart briefly soared as she expected him to crack that smile of his that she loved.

What happened instead made her blood run cold. Hiccup was painfully stiff, his sword arm limp and dangling the weapon by his side. He stared at her; his emerald eyes stained with horror as she reveled in her victory.

He couldn't even recognize her.

* * *

Hiccup jumped when a huge hand appeared on his shoulder. The hand patted him, and Hiccup looked up in surprise, calming as he recognized his father.

"Did I scare you, son?"

Hiccup's mouth ran dry. "Ah, a little, sorry that I didn't hear you coming, Dad. I've got a lot on my mind." He'd headed for the forge after class, chasing absolute silence and absently sharpening his sword on the grindstone as his mind raced about other things entirely.

In truth, he had hoped to avoid his dad for a few hours, maybe slip away and see Toothless once the shouting in the village quieted. And there actually _was_ a lot to think about. Astrid had won today, like he'd planned, but now she was expected to kill the Monstrous Nightmare. Obviously, this had been expected—you couldn't just win dragon training and _not_ kill a dragon—but it still wasn't an easy pill for Hiccup to swallow. Somehow, he'd convinced himself that she wouldn't do it. That she wouldn't _want_ to do it.

Seeing her so happy when she was declared the winner had sent him plummeting back to Midgard.

"I wasn't able to catch you after the class." Stoick explained.

"I don't mind… Dad, I'm sorry that I lost." Hiccup said. He prayed that his father wasn't angry, as he often was.

"Sorry? Son, you shouldn't apologize to me."

Hiccup cast a look of surprise at his father. Stoick cocked his head as he realized that Hiccup had expected him to be upset. That was the wrong way to be a parent.

"I'm not ashamed of you, Hiccup. I'm _proud."_ Stoick added, "You may not have won today, but is it really a shame to lose to a warrior as talented as Astrid?"

Hiccup stuttered, "W-w-well, no, I guess not, but I'm the chief's son…"

"It matters little to me. You surpassed my every hope in the ring. I never expected you to develop such a talent for fighting dragons." Stoick explained, "In the end, I'm proud of your progress, and I believe that one day, you'll be a great dragon killer."

Hiccup's chest hurt.

"How are things between the two of you?" Hiccup looked up from his sword and the grindstone.

"I'm sorry?"

"You and Astrid. Gobber has mentioned things have been rough between you two." Stoick explained.

"Oh, um, I guess for a while they were. We had some disagreements. B-but we're good now, I promise. St-still on track to marry in a few years." Hiccup answered uneasily.

Stoick examined him for a moment and nodded, accepting his answer. "Good. Now, I'm off. The Svensons and the Acks are having a livestock dispute. I'll see you at home tonight, son."

"See you…" Hiccup mumbled as Stoick took off, nearly shaking the ground with his heavy footsteps. Once his dad was out of sight, he briskly walked home. He took the long way, avoiding any prying eyes, and barged into the house, fetching his things before leaping through the back door, hoisting a sack of fish onto his back and heading for the woods.

* * *

Astrid's feet scrabbled against the rock as she slid into the cove. She spotted Hiccup seated on a flat stone jutting out of the ground, his back turned to her as he tended to Toothless. The Night Fury wriggled excitedly upon spotting her and bounded past Hiccup over to her, warbling. Hiccup glanced back for the briefest instant, stubbornly keeping his back turned to her. Astrid nearly frowned, but Toothless burrowed his flat head into her stomach and demanded attention, bringing a smile to her face.

"Good afternoon, Toothless." Astrid beamed, her good mood practically radiating off of her as she scratched the Night Fury's chin and rubbed his ears. She looked past the dragon to Hiccup, who was still conspicuously avoiding eye contact. She was hours late, a consequence of her victory today, so surely, he was just a little peeved about that.

"Hey."

Hiccup remained silent, still seated on that rock and ignoring her.

Astrid squinted, confused. What was his problem? "I'm sorry I'm late. I couldn't get away from my family."

He answered immediately, "Are you really going to kill the Nightmare, Astrid?"

Astrid flinched, caught off-guard. She just barely licked her lips, wetting them before she answered. "I… I was planning to."

Hiccup surged to his feet and whirled around to face her. She found herself glad that looks couldn't kill. If there had been a tree in his way, his glare might well have cut straight through it. He answered with a harsh, rasping growl. "How can you say that? How can you _do_ that? After everything you've seen, after everything you've learned, how can you turn around and go right back to fighting dragons?"

Astrid understood now why he was in such a bad mood, but she wasn't willing to concede to him. No way. The nerve of him! Her nose scrunched up and she sneered, "Hiccup, I've been training for this my whole _life!"_

"And you know that fighting them is what makes things messy. You know that dragons aren't dangerous!" Hiccup countered.

Astrid scoffed, "Back it up a second, Hiccup. I've seen two dragons be friendly with me and not try to skin me alive."

"You've seen two dragons that didn't want to hurt you. You even hurt that Nadder yourself, and she didn't try to hurt you back."

"You seem to forget that she charged at me at first." Astrid countered.

"No, she got excited when the doors suddenly opened and wanted to say hello. When she saw your weapon, she got tense." Hiccup corrected, "Once she realized you weren't going to hurt her, she calmed down. That's proof right there that the dragons are just defending themselves, that they aren't hostile. We don't have to kill them, Astrid."

"What about the ones that raid our village?"

"I don't know why they raid, but us fighting back is what causes people to die." Hiccup replied.

"So, what, we should just lay back and let them take our food?"

"Astrid, I've had Terrible Terrors fly up to me, lay in my lap, and go to sleep! If dragons were inherently hostile creatures, how can you explain that?"

He was deflecting. He didn't have an answer either, but he was still stubbornly clinging to his beliefs. "Then let's say _some_ dragons are good." Astrid suggested, "Why can't some dragons be good, and some dragons be bad, Hiccup? There are a lot of good people and a lot of bad people, right?"

"Because people are different from dragons. They're not even remotely the same."

"You don't know that."

"You _can't_ kill the Nightmare, Astrid."

"Then what would you have me do!?" Astrid snapped, seeing red. She clenched her fists, anger breaking out of her like a caged animal. "Gods, you are so _stubborn!_ You keep begging me not to do it, so give me another option! What else am I supposed to do, Hiccup?"

"Help me prove that dragons are good."

"_How?_ Tell me _how,_ Hiccup!"

"You could help me free the dragons trapped in the arena." Hiccup suggested.

"That wouldn't work, and you know it, Hiccup. Even if we survived_ and_ didn't get caught, the village would go insane when they found out the dragons had escaped. And that won't prove your point to them. At best, that would just delay my final exam. They'd capture another dragon and have me kill that one." Astrid said, "We can't tell your dad about any of this, so that's off the table. Like it or not, there is no other option here."

"We could leave."

The air grew taut with sudden tension, Astrid staring Hiccup down in disbelief. Surely, he hadn't just said what she thought he'd said, right? "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Astrid scoffed, shaking her head and averting her eyes from him in disbelief. She started to walk away. Hiccup groaned in annoyance and followed her, continuing, "Astrid, we have Toothless. We could go wherever we wanted across the known world—probably even further! We could free the Nadder and take her with us, and we could leave Berk."

Astrid stopped and shook her head, turning back to face him and frowning. "That's not any better, Hiccup. Let's say that we do leave Berk—what happens then? Do we just up and vanish, or fake our deaths? What would our parents think? And then what, we settle in some foreign mainland city halfway across the world and never see our families again?"

Hiccup's shoulders sagged. She was right, of course. It was easy enough to just take off and leave Berk, but it was another beast entirely to never return and figure out what to do next.

"I don't know, Astrid. I don't know what you should do. But you have to believe me, I _know_ that somewhere deep down you do. Dragons aren't what we think they are—what everyone _else_ thinks they are. We don't have to kill them." Hiccup pleaded. "Something has to change."

"Hiccup, I want to believe you. I want to believe in the possibility that we could live in a world where we don't have to kill dragons. But that doesn't change the fact that I've only seen two decent dragons. Every other one I've seen outside the arena either raids Berk or has tried to kill me. So how am I supposed to believe that dragons are good? How am I supposed to believe that your way is the _right_ way?"

Hiccup's eyes flicked up and he came upon an idea. "I know how. But you have to listen."

"Hiccup, I've _been_ listening, and it hasn't changed very much."

"Then I won't speak." Hiccup resolved, "Just let me show you."

"Show me what?"

Hiccup snapped his fingers and whistled, catching Toothless' attention. "C'mere, bud," he said, and the Night Fury padded over to the boy. Hiccup gestured to the dragon's back and Toothless understood, turning around and leaning so that Hiccup could mount the saddle.

Then Hiccup looked up at Astrid, standing with his feet held in the stirrups at Toothless' side. He beamed, his emerald eyes flashing with hope, "Let me show you something so amazing, that you'll have to change your mind about dragons. Let me show you what it's like to _be_ a dragon."

Astrid saw where he was going with this, and she didn't like the idea. "Oh, no. No, no, no. I'm not getting on Toothless."

"Why not, Astrid? He's not going to let you fall. _I'm_ not going to let you fall." Hiccup said.

Astrid huffed and turned her back, her stubborn streak flaring up again.

"You have to face your fears at some point, Astrid," Hiccup added, calm and careful as he spoke. Astrid gave a long, exasperated exhale, not quite resisting him but also not giving in.

"Please, Astrid." Hiccup begged her, "If this doesn't change your mind… if this doesn't convince you that dragons are good, then I'll drop it. I'll let you kill the Nightmare, and I won't bug you about dragons again."

Astrid was smart enough to understand that Hiccup wouldn't just stick around, though. He'd already suggested leaving Berk altogether, which meant that he'd thought about it before. He would leave without her if that happened. But she didn't bring that up—Astrid wasn't willing to confront the possibility yet.

Carefully, Astrid turned again and met Hiccup's eyes, careful not to look into Toothless' equally hopeful irises. She kept her head cocked as she addressed Hiccup.

"You're really confident that this will convince me."

"Pretty much, yes." Hiccup replied, hand outstretched towards her. "What do you say?"

Astrid stared at the boy on the dragon, and then the dragon itself. Toothless warbled encouragingly, tongue lolling out and licking his scaly, black lips and revealing his empty gums.

_Oh, for Thor's sake._

Astrid stepped forward, inching closer to Toothless and reaching up to clasp Hiccup's hand. She allowed herself to be pulled onto the dragon's back and let go, situating herself on the back of the saddle.

"New saddle?" she asked. It looked… _bigger._

"Yep. Seats two people. Built it just for the occasion."

"You've been planning to get me on this dragon for a while now, haven't you?"

"You could say that."

Astrid shivered, fear creeping threateningly up her spine. "Okay, let's get this over with."

Toothless seemingly understood her and spread his huge black wings, looking like a scaly, overgrown bat.

"Alright, Toothless, let's take this nice and—"

Astrid only had a mere instant to regret everything before Toothless leaned back and _launched,_ zooming straight up into the air. Astrid screamed and frantically grabbed onto Hiccup's back, wrapping her arms around his stomach and squeezing for dear life. Her hair whipped wildly behind her head and the wind tried to tug her free, so she squeezed harder. The thump of Toothless' wings sent tremors through her body, only adding to her fear.

Hiccup heaved, wheezing hoarsely, "Astrid! Can't…breathe…!"

Astrid ignored him, buried her face in his back, and shut her eyes tight, finding a small amount of comfort in the empty blackness. The wind continued to howl in her ears, laughing at her for being so stupid.

Astrid felt them level off and fly more smoothly, but she was still too terrified to open her eyes. Her vice-grip on Hiccup's stomach relented only slightly and she felt him twist, probably to look back at her.

"Astrid." Hiccup said, the very tone of his voice telling her all that he meant to say.

"No." Astrid refused, stubbornly keeping her eyes shut.

"Astrid, as much as I enjoy you squeezing the life out of me, you're gonna want to see this."

Astrid huffed, reluctantly pulling her face away from its cover and slowly cracking her eyelids. She found that she was looking straight down at the ocean. It had to be thousands of feet below them—she had to be higher up than any Viking had ever been.

Well, any Viking except for Hiccup.

"Nope, not a fan. Nope, nope, nope." Hiccup chuckled and Astrid pressed her face to his back again. "Please take me home," she begged.

"Now look _up,_ Astrid."

Astrid very audibly sighed. She wasn't getting out of this, so she relented and tried again, this time pointing her head upward and opening her eyes again.

She gasped.

It was like nothing she'd ever dreamed. There was blue as far as the eye could see, an unrelenting and beautiful blue that shined and glowed and amazed. Fluffy white clouds dotted the sky, and the sun blessed them with gentle, warm light that couldn't possibly be part of winter. She could see for _miles._

Her silence made Hiccup smile. He shifted his foot and there was a metallic _click_. Astrid looked behind her, just in time to catch the sight of Toothless' tailfin expanding. Toothless beat his powerful wings and thrusted forward, catching the winds more easily and gliding across the sky, a far cry from the zooming ascent that the dragon had begun with.

They flew towards a mass of clouds and Astrid's eyes widened, noticing that the clouds became less solid as they drew closer and closer. She pulled a hand from around Hiccup's stomach and reached up, amazed as her hand slipped right through the whitish mist. Her inhibitions left her, and she reached up with all of her might, dipping both arms up to the elbow in the clouds and silently delighting at their texture as cold moisture bathed her forearms.

Astrid saw Toothless cock his head back in her direction and give her the slightest smile before looking forward again.

"Enjoying yourself, milady?" Hiccup asked with a knowing smirk as he watched her from the corner of his eye.

"It's like nothing I've ever dreamed." Astrid beamed, sitting down on the saddle again.

"Now look back down. Are you still scared?"

Astrid listened and glanced down. This time, she took in the beauty of the ocean far below her. She saw a tidal wave ripple through the surf, appearing so tiny from their height that she couldn't muster an ounce of nerves. Astrid realized that she wasn't afraid.

Hiccup took her silence for an answer. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to share this with you, Astrid. _This…_ this is what it is to be a dragon. This is what changed my mind. Has it changed yours?"

Astrid snaked her hands around Hiccup's waist and placed her chin on his shoulder, hugging him from behind. "How about we fly some more, and I'll tell you then?"

Hiccup chuckled and mushed Toothless forward, "As milady commands."

They stayed in the air for hours, wasting what was left of the day swooping through the blue sky and cutting through clouds. The longer they flew, the more comfortable Astrid felt, and the more daring Hiccup and Toothless' maneuvers became. They pulled off a few wide flips every now and then, and later they tried a series of steady spins that sent them twirling in midair. Astrid never complained.

The sun set, and still they flew, even until nightfall. Somehow, it became even more beautiful when the sky turned black, revealing all of its hidden twinkling stars and the tranquil moon. An aurora streaked across the night sky above the clouds, coloring sections of the darkness with the most beautiful colors of light Astrid had ever seen.

But the most incredible sight came well after that. Hiccup sent Toothless drifting through the layer of clouds to reveal the sea and islands below. Astrid gasped as her eyes fixated on Berk. The island was tiny from so high up, and specks of torchlight lit the village on the south end of the rock. It looked so peaceful. From a distance one couldn't guess that the people who lived there faced the problems that they did. Toothless dove gently downward, steadily closing in on the island. They flew past the Guardians, the stone statues far out to sea that welcomed ships to the island.

Astrid hugged Hiccup close, setting her chin on his shoulder again. Her grip was warmer this time, different from the panicked holding-on that she'd had earlier in the day. A small smile crossed Hiccup's face, feeling oddly at peace as Astrid held onto him.

Toothless turned back from the island, drifting along just a few feet above the sea as they left Berk behind. After several miles of quiet, Astrid finally spoke.

"Alright, I admit it. This is pretty cool." Astrid gestured to Toothless, "It's amazing. _He's_ amazing."

Hiccup grinned and moved to respond, but Astrid cut him off.

"But what happens now?"

Hiccup sighed, tensing up and looking down at the sea, "I don't know."

Astrid had been hoping for a more concrete answer. "Hiccup, my final exam is tomorrow. You know that they'll make me kill a—"

Hiccup snapped his head in her direction, giving her a look that instantly told her to keep her voice down. Astrid lowered her voice to a whisper, careful not to upset Toothless.

"_Kill a dragon."_

"I know… does this mean that you don't want to anymore?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid sucked in a breath, knowing in her heart what her answer was. "No. I thought I did earlier today, but… I was confused and thought I could separate Toothless and that Nadder from other dragons. But you're right. This…" she gestured to the sky, and then to Toothless, "_they're_ amazing. Let's head back, we can figure something out—"

Toothless suddenly tensed up, a low grumble coming from the dragon as he frantically looked back and forth. Astrid quieted as Hiccup leaned forward, calling to Toothless with concern, "Toothless? Everything okay, bud?"

Toothless answered by suddenly diving downward. The Night Fury flew of his own accord, ignoring Hiccup's directions.

"Toothless, what's happening?" Hiccup asked. Astrid looked ahead as Hiccup futilely tried to get Toothless' attention, and her breath hitched in her throat as she spotted a huge wall of thick fog up ahead.

Astrid frantically tapped Hiccup's shoulder and the skinny boy started to look up, freezing as he saw the fog too, fast approaching them as Toothless glided just a few feet above the ocean, "Hiccup, is that…?"

"Helheim's Gate." Hiccup whispered. Toothless sped forward and broke through the haze, shrouding Hiccup and Astrid's world in gray.

"What's going on?" Astrid asked, voice hushed. She reached out for Hiccup, silently relieved as she found he was still in front of her.

Hiccup answered with a shudder, "I don't know."

They got their answer a moment later as Toothless snarled and dodged out of the way. A Monstrous Nightmare promptly flapped past them, long, leathery wings beating as hard as they could. Toothless slid in the other direction and another Nightmare flew in from the side, snarling and scaring Toothless back the other way once again. The fog seemed to blur all of a sudden and a horde of dragons came into view, flying in a cluster and clutching handfuls of fish in their claws.

Hiccup took quick, panicked breaths, taking care to be quiet, "Okay… okay… Toothless, you've gotta get us out of here, bud. We're not safe here."

Toothless shrugged off Hiccup's touch, panicked. There would be no getting out of this.

Hiccup turned to observe the horde of dragons around them, eyeing the king's ransoms of food that the beasts were carrying, "It looks like they're hauling in their kill."

"I thought they didn't raid in the winter."

"They don't, at least not this far north." Hiccup clarified, "It doesn't look like they're carrying any livestock, anyway, it looks like it's all fish. Dragons are so much less active this time of year, you rarely see them if they aren't out gathering food."

"That's a lot of food." Astrid remarked nervously.

A Zippleback flew past them, glancing over at Toothless and hissing.

"Um, Hiccup? If they're bringing back their kill, what exactly does that make us?" Astrid whimpered.

The horde of dragons suddenly dipped, diving downward and only pulling up to enter a maze of sea stacks. Hiccup tried to keep track of where they were going as Toothless followed the group, but the thick fog had shot his sense of direction, and they were merely along for the ride. Astrid stayed silent, too, paralyzed by her own fear as she examined the countless species of dragon flying a few mere feet from her.

The maze of sea stacks soon led to a dark, ominous mountain. Hiccup and Astrid looked up to get a good look at the formation, spotting an orange rivulet of magma dribbling down the side. Hiccup looked ahead, and the face of the mountain came into view, opened by a large crevice that led to Odin-knows-where.

The dragon horde entered the gap and passed through a series of tunnels, weaving expertly through the twists and turns before entering into a large, hollowed-out chamber within the mountain. A thick fog covered what Hiccup guessed was the floor of the chamber, and an eerie red glow lit the inside of the mountain.

_The dragons' nest._

"What my dad wouldn't give to find this." Hiccup whispered, awestruck.

Toothless flew them to a ledge higher up within the mountain, perching in one of many grottos that had been carved out of the rock and nervously looking around. Something was obviously very wrong—the Night Fury was not at all comfortable being in this place. Dragons of all shapes and sizes flew in after them, dropping the food they'd brought back into the mist below.

"Well, it's satisfying to know that all of our food is being dumped down a hole." Hiccup grumbled, watching as countless pounds of fish were dropped into the pit.

"I don't understand. They're not eating any of it." Astrid said, "If it's not for them, then what—"

A Gronckle flew in at the back of the horde, buzzing incessantly and parking over the pit. The small dragon regurgitated a measly chunk of fish as its offering, lifting a leg to scratch its neck before flying off.

A deep, ominous growl echoed from the mist, and a second later the largest creature that Hiccup and Astrid had ever seen launched up from below, eating the Gronckle whole. The assembled dragons screeched in terror, backing away fearfully as the monstrous dragon growled, sending them all a bloodcurdling warning.

"Oh, my gods." Astrid gasped quietly.

Hiccup stared at the enormous dragon with similar bewilderment. Everything suddenly made sense.

Astrid grabbed his shoulder and shook him, and the boy got the message without a word. Hiccup bent down towards Toothless' ear.

"Okay, bud, you've gotta get us out of here." Hiccup whispered.

The gigantic dragon had just been slinking back into its hole before it sniffed the air and flinched. Its massive nostrils expanded, and a low growl penetrated the thick air, the beast glaring off to the side where it saw the Night Fury and the two humans.

"Now!" Hiccup yelled, and Toothless needed no further encouragement. The Night Fury launched off of the ledge and Hiccup cranked the tailfin, putting them in prime position to ascend. The giant dragon rocketed towards their hiding place, snapping its enormous teeth around empty air. The massive collection of dragons screeched and many of them took to the air to escape, giving Toothless some cover, but the furious giant behind them quickly scaled the inside of its mountain in attempt to catch the intruders.

Astrid dared to look behind her, staring right into the massive maw of whatever child of Loki was chasing after them. She instantly cowered and grabbed onto Hiccup's tunic, and the monster opened its jaws only to close on a very unfortunate Zippleback that had flown straight into its path. Apparently satisfied, the huge dragon dropped back down with the dead dragon while Toothless emerged from the top of the volcano and flew as fast as he could.

Astrid didn't speak on the flight home, and neither did Hiccup.

* * *

Toothless swooped into the cove, nearly stumbling into a landing.

"It totally makes sense. It's like a giant beehive: they're the workers and that's their queen. It controls them." Astrid finally said. She hopped off of Toothless, briefly relishing the feeling of solid ground again. "Let's find your dad, he'll know what to do."

Hiccup immediately jumped off of Toothless, reaching out to grab Astrid's arm, "Astrid, no. Wait." Hiccup spun Astrid back toward him so that they faced each other. "If we tell my dad, he'll want to know how we found the nest, and he'll figure it all out. He'll _kill_ Toothless. We need to keep this between us until we can figure out what to do."

Hiccup dropped his arm and turned his back, mind racing for some kind of solution to this new problem. Suddenly, he had proof—_real _proof of everything he believed. The dragons were forced to raid Berk and surrounding settlements by their queen. They terrorized the village, but not at all of their own accord.

Sadly, he couldn't figure out what to do with that information.

Astrid, meanwhile, was appalled. "Hiccup, we just discovered the dragons' _nest—_the thing we've been searching for since Vikings first sailed here. And you want to keep it a secret? To protect your _pet dragon_?"

Hiccup whirled on her again, and where there had once been confusion there was nothing but resolve. "Yes," he answered.

Astrid blinked, surprised. She had to admit that she was impressed. Never in her life had she seen Hiccup so sure of something, even earlier that day when he'd insisted that flying on Toothless would change her mind about dragons. He'd been right about that. Maybe he was right about this, too. Maybe keeping quiet was the best course of action, for now.

"Okay." Astrid said, "Then what are we gonna do?"

"I… I think I may have an idea. Just give me tonight to work over the details, and we'll talk in the morning. Can you meet me here early tomorrow?"

Astrid nodded, only slightly feverish. "Yeah."

"Okay."

Astrid scrunched her nose and looked at the ground. She noticed how close they were standing to each other and glanced at the moonlit cove. There was no one around, not counting Toothless.

It was as good a time as any to try something.

Astrid punched Hiccup on the arm, _hard._ Hiccup yelped in surprise, hand automatically going up to his arm.

"That's for almost getting us killed."

Hiccup snorted, annoyed, and looked back over to Toothless. The Night Fury had stepped over to the lake to get a drink but had noticed the interaction and looked at Hiccup curiously. The skinny boy shrugged and shook his head, to which Toothless blinked. Sometimes Astrid could be just a little insufferable.

Then Astrid grabbed a fistful of his tunic, yanking him towards her and pecking him on the cheek, holding there for only a split-second before pulling away, immediately embarrassed by the show of affection.

She brushed her bangs out of her face, her lips tingling. Hiccup had gone terribly still, not believing what had just occurred. Astrid wasn't sure she believed it either.

"That's for… everything else." Astrid managed, and then she turned and ran to leave the cove, doing her best to seem cool and confident despite the massive chink she'd just revealed in her armor.

As she slinked out of the cove and into the woods, she heard Toothless' unmistakable warble and then a truly legendary voice crack from Hiccup.

"_W-what are you looking at?"_


	18. Living Nightmare

**Alright, I'm back and Astrid and Hiccup are going to try and prove to Berk that the dragons aren't their enemies. This should go swimmingly.**

**I got some great reviews on the last chapter and would really, really love for that to continue, so I hope everyone reading this will consider posting a review at the end of this chapter! Thanks again to all for reading!**

* * *

**_18\. Living Nightmare_**

Hiccup quietly slid the back door open and stepped outside, greeted by the first vestiges of dawn in the distance. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, the morning so young that the land in front of Hiccup was still dark and untouched by the glow of morning. His boots squelched as he walked, crushing dewy blades of grass underfoot. Last night had been bitterly cold, leaving a wet frost in its wake. Very soon, winter would arrive and ice would form in the ports, confining the Berkians to the land.

Hiccup chanced cautious looks to either side, scanning the dark village to ensure that no one could see him. Though his father was still asleep inside the house, Hiccup would hardly be the first Viking out of bed for the day, and a fully-populated town only amplified the chances of him getting caught by a nosy villager.

When he felt he was safe, Hiccup bolted into the woods, careful to ensure that his footfalls were light as he crossed under the tree line. Grass became dark brown dirt as he reached the beaten path through the western woods, as familiar to him now as his own house.

The path became steadily more lit as the sun rose in the distance, sending shafts of sunlight into the trees and down onto the wooded ground. Some ways down the road, Hiccup spotted a deer grazing on some bushes. He could only admire for a moment, as his footsteps alerted it and the creature took off after the slightest glance in his direction.

He was almost to the cove when he heard the telltale sound of a twig snapping underfoot. Before he could turn around, a hand grabbed the collar of his tunic, stopping him in his tracks.

"What're you doing out here?"

Hiccup snickered. She tried to mask her voice, but he wasn't fooled. The hand grabbing his collar was nowhere near big enough to be anyone else. "I know it's you, Astrid."

He turned and sure enough, Astrid slinked up beside him, grinning in the early morning light. "Yeah, but what if it wasn't?"

"Well, then I'd have some explaining to do," Hiccup indulged. Astrid slid past him and dropped onto the pass leading into the cove and Hiccup quickly followed, catching up to walk in stride with her. Toothless woke from across the cove and stretched his legs, opening his mouth in a great yawn. After that, the Night Fury ambled over excitedly, dancing circles around Hiccup and Astrid both.

"Morning, bud. I don't have any breakfast for you this time. You're gonna have to fish on your own." Hiccup said. Toothless groaned, only partially unhappy, and slithered to the bank of the small lake, promptly inspecting the waters for fish with a watchful eye.

Hiccup gestured for Astrid to follow, picking a long, smooth stone to sit down on.

"Everything okay?" Astrid asked, recognizing that Hiccup was off. She sat next to him, dragging her legs up almost to her side and studying him.

"Great. Just thinking about how we're going to pull off committing treason."

Astrid frowned. "Do we have another option?"

"Part of me still recommends packing our things and leaving, but we can't do that; not after what we saw last night." Hiccup replied, "There's no time for us to hide anymore."

"So what do we do?"

"I've come up with a… rough plan."

"Rough plan?"

"It's definitely not my best idea ever." Hiccup conceded.

"Well, spill."

"This queen dragon controls the rest of them. A giant beehive, just like you said." Hiccup started, "We can break the cycle. But we're going to have to change the minds of the entire village in order to do that."

"You're stalling." Astrid said, crossing her arms and giving him a pointed look.

Hiccup sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, "Gods, I know. I sound like an idiot. Okay, they're gonna make you fight the Nightmare. Obviously. Everyone in the village is going to be there to see Berk's next great dragon slayer get her first kill," he tried again, throwing a hint of sarcastic flair into his speech.

Astrid flinched at the notion of _killing,_ and Hiccup internally smiled. It felt a little sick for him to do that, to take pleasure in her own _dis_pleasure, but he shrugged it off. His success with her spurred his notion that he—_they_—could change the rest of their people's perceptions about dragons.

"That dragon's going to be mad when they let it out, it's been stuck in a tiny little room for months. Your job is going to be to calm it down and get it to trust you, just like you did with the Nadder."

Astrid brought her thumb to her lip, biting it with a hint of nerves. "Are you sure it'll just accept me like that? Monstrous Nightmares are known for their aggression."

"Only because of their capacity for aggression. Once you lay down your weapons and show it that you don't want to hurt it, I'm confident it'll trust you. Once the Nightmare is pacified, we'll go from there."

"This plan of yours doesn't think very far ahead."

"It's not meant to, really. I don't know how the village is going to take it, and the amount of people there could scare the dragon. At the very least, there's going to be some mixed emotions."

"A village full of people that have been killing dragons for 300 years? Yeah, that's one way to put it."

"I know this isn't ideal. I wish I had something better. But knowing what we know… the rest of the village needs to know, too. But it's not going to work if we don't show them what the dragons are like outside of a raid." Hiccup said, "And no matter what, I'll have your back every step of the way."

There was a loud splash and the two of them looked over to the lake, where Toothless had successfully caught a fish. With a satisfied warble, the dragon jubilantly lobbed the fish in the air and gulped it down in a few speedy bites. Toothless then looked back at Hiccup and Astrid, and after watching them for a few surprisingly long seconds, opened his mouth into a gummy smile.

"Hey, great work, bud!" Hiccup beamed. Toothless wriggled excitedly and bounded in a loop around the bank of the lake, incredibly pleased with himself.

Astrid recalled Hiccup telling her that he couldn't even catch fish for himself when they'd first met, the dragon's world and natural bearings turned upside down with the loss of his tailfin. Apparently, this was progress.

Toothless stopped his giddy celebration and cocked his head at them both, suddenly crawling over and warbling lowly.

"What's with him?" Astrid asked.

"He can tell that something's up." Hiccup answered. He reached out to Toothless, who eagerly pressed his warm snout to Hiccup's small palm. Hiccup stroked the Night Fury's chin, "It's okay, bud. Today is just a big day."

"That's an understatement." Astrid snorted. Hiccup chuckled, and when he looked at Astrid, the laughter in his eyes grew contagious and she laughed, too.

It was an important laugh, one that they needed. It distracted them from the thought of the treachery they were about to commit.

* * *

Hiccup weaved through the burly bodies of the Vikings huddled around the arena. As expected, everyone in the village was present, and all of them were desperate to get the best view that they could. Astrid's final exam had been billed as the event of the decade, a must-see fight between the best young warrior to come through dragon training in years and one of the most fearsome breeds of dragon known to fly the skies.

Hiccup slipped through the throng of people pretty easily thanks to his slim frame. He overheard two muscular men making a wager on how Astrid would slay the Nightmare.

Distracted by the sight, he bumped into a Viking. He immediately backed up and braced for a scolding, but none came. "Oops, sorry, Hiccup," the voice said, and he looked up at the warrior he'd bumped into. His name was Dogsnot, Hiccup thought?

"No, no, my bad," Hiccup protested, and he pushed on, paying Dogsnot no more attention than he needed to and getting the same treatment from the warrior. After a handful of moments dodging meandering Vikings and getting no looks, he reached the tunnel leading into the ring.

Biting his tongue, Hiccup stepped inside.

Astrid was standing still at the foot of the ramp, eyes fixed on the ring through the holes in the gate and her axe strapped to her back. Hiccup's chest hurt at the sight. For as long as he'd known her, all Astrid had wanted was to be in this moment; on the verge of slaying her first dragon in front of the entire village.

He knew she'd never imagined that she wouldn't want to do it when the time came.

"Astrid?"

The blonde warrior turned to look at Hiccup over her shoulder, and he thought he saw her relax as she recognized him, if only a little bit.

"Are you sure that you're up for this?" Hiccup asked, stepping up so that he was at Astrid's side.

"Worried?" Astrid half-scoffed, putting up that wall of confidence that she so often built when in doubt.

"It's not the dragon that I'm worried about." Hiccup said, eyes fixed on his father on the other end of the ring. Stoick was standing above where the Nightmare was being kept, locked in a vigorous conversation with Spitelout. His seat stood behind him, even taller than the Chief himself.

Astrid kept her bravado, "We have to put an end to this. We have to try."

Hiccup nodded. Astrid looked at the ground and tilted slightly towards him, looking up with her blue eyes more pleading than he'd ever seen. Her bluster had fallen, and she looked _vulnerable._

"Hiccup… if something bad happens, will you free that Nadder for me?" Astrid asked, "She doesn't deserve to be locked up. She deserves to be free."

Hiccup nodded affirmatively but couldn't make himself smile. He was too nervous. "I will. Just… promise me nothing bad's gonna happen."

Boldly, he reached out to grasp her hand. Her fingers were cold, and the sensation made Hiccup wince, but he held his gaze on Astrid. She slowly looked up, peering at him through her bangs.

Astrid opened her mouth to respond, but she was silenced by footsteps on the stone ramp. Astrid and Hiccup separated and turned to see Gobber waddling over to them, peg leg clicking on the ground. The old blacksmith hadn't heard a thing, thankfully, and he strolled in with a smile on his face.

"It's time, Astrid." Gobber declared. Hiccup stepped off to the side so that Gobber could take his place and reach down to throw the metal gate open. "Knock 'im dead."

Astrid threw a glance to Hiccup, and Hiccup nodded fiercely in understanding. He turned and ran out of the tunnel, squinting as the late morning sunlight tried to blind him. He heard Tuffnut yell _"Show 'em how it's done, sister!"_ and he ran to his designated place beside his father. Stoick was just sitting down as he arrived, and the red-headed Chief grinned at his son as he approached.

"Hiccup. Are you ready?"

"Sure am, Dad."

"Good. Astrid's legend begins today." Stoick asserted. Hiccup simply nodded, too tense to respond. If only his father knew.

Stoick's huge hand raised up to ruffle Hiccup's hair. The chief's grin only grew as Hiccup squirmed out of the contact, and he looked down to the ring where Astrid was choosing her shield. The blonde warrior hefted a shield with the figure of a dragon painted on it in red, and with one hand unlatched her axe and swung it into position, catching the sunlight with the freshly-sharpened blade.

"I'm ready!"

Stoick nodded and signaled his approval with his hand. The huge metal door beneath him began to open, creaking as the old mechanisms keeping it locked were moved out of place. There was a _bang_ and the doors suddenly flung open as something rammed them from the inside, and a Monstrous Nightmare emerged with its hide already coated in flames. The crowd gasped in awe.

Astrid staggered back a step and the dragon launched to the wall of the arena, roaring and furiously clambering across the stone. It spat a jet of flame through some of the gaps in the arena roofing, but the adult Vikings huddled in that section merely stepped aside, all too experienced at dodging streams of dragonfire.

Only when the Nightmare reached the apex of the arena's chain-link roof did it seem to realize why it had been released. Hanging onto the metal bars with its hooked claws, the Monstrous Nightmare bent down, demonstrating exceptional flexibility as it contorted its body to glare down at Astrid. The blonde held her ground, raising her shield rather than her weapon.

Steadily, the Nightmare dropped down to the ground, long claws clacking against the stone floor. The dragon crept forward on its tiny front feet, huge wings bending back at its sides.

From one side of the ring, Ingvar Hofferson bellowed words of encouragement.

"Go on, Astrid! Kill him!"

Astrid kept her eyes fixed on the Nightmare and stepped back as the dragon crept closer. First, she dropped her axe, paying it no heed as it clattered to the ground. The dragon blew smoke from its nostrils, flashing its many serrated teeth in satisfaction. Prey that couldn't fight back was the easiest prey.

Strangely, Astrid recalled what her father had said to her more than a year ago, when she'd tried to disavow her betrothal to Hiccup. _As long as I am responsible for you, you will do what _I _say._

She was in direct defiance of her father now, and even though she loved him and vice versa, she felt alive.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay." Astrid fretted, and dropped her shield. The Nightmare grew confused now, its pace suddenly slowing. What was this girl's game?

Stoick's breath caught in his throat. "What is she _doing?"_ the chief asked, suddenly leaning forward. Hiccup started to reach towards his father. This was what he'd been afraid of, and rightfully so. He could already feel the rage building in Stoick's blood, though even the chief didn't yet seem to realize how angry he was becoming, the fury held in check by just the thinnest layer of confusion.

Astrid gently reached her empty hands towards the Nightmare's snout, and the dragon's golden eyes widened in surprise, its pupils dilating curiously. Astrid turned her gaze toward the chief, and then the other Vikings watching from above before she uttered her next words.

"_I'm not one of them."_ Astrid said, "I'll never be one of them."

The Monstrous Nightmare's eyes widened, the crowd's confusion vanished, and burning anger bubbled up within Stoick the Vast. "Stop the fight," he ordered, knowing that someone would hear and obey.

"No! Listen to me, please." Astrid insisted, reaching her hand closer to the calming Nightmare. The red-scaled dragon began to inch closer, eyeing the teenage girl's outstretched hand.

Stoick looked around, face going red with anger as no one moved, not one Viking taking the initiative to carry out his damned orders.

Astrid locked eyes with the dragon, "There's another way. They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them."

Vikings all around her gasped in shock.

That was the final straw for Stoick. The chief surged out of his seat; war hammer clutched so tightly in his grip that for a split-second Hiccup thought his fingers might snap off.

"_I said STOP THE FIGHT!"_

Stoick threw the hammer down onto the metal bars of the arena roof. The bar bent and screamed with a loud _clang_, and all Hel broke loose.

The Monstrous Nightmare's eyes narrowed; any semblance of calm instantly shocked out of it by the sound of the hammer. The dragon snapped its serrated teeth at Astrid's hand, missing only because Astrid pulled her arm back in the nick of time. Her escape stoked a newfound fury in the Nightmare, and it reared up to breathe a blast of molten fire at her.

Astrid dove to the side, avoiding the blaze with the practiced ease of a warrior. As she did, she grabbed her axe from the ground, already feeling safer with the weapon in her hand.

"Astrid!" Hiccup yelled, and he surged forward to dive into the ring. He closed his hands around the bars and dropped, preparing to slide his skinny frame under the bars and into the fray.

"Hiccup, no!" Stoick roared as he saw his son, and he reached a meaty hand out to snatch the boy. But Hiccup swung, not listening like always, and Stoick missed, allowing his boy to jump into the madness transpiring below.

* * *

Had it not been for the massive fire-breathing dragon just a few feet from her, wild and flaming and ferocious, Astrid probably would've registered the abject fear circulating through her veins. Instead, she moved purely on instinct, staying light on her feet as she recognized that she didn't even have a shield and was thus unprotected.

She'd totally broken Gobber's first rule. _If you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield._ With a furious dragon charging her, she'd chosen her axe. They might as well fail her now.

Astrid didn't have time to scold herself. The Monstrous Nightmare reared up, scales alight with vicious flames as it conjured another fiery blast from its belly.

The beast was stopped by a wooden bucket flying into its face, which shattered and burned up in pieces. The Nightmare snarled and looked past Astrid, prompting the blonde warrior to whirl around and see Hiccup. The skinny boy carried no weapon, standing there dumbly as if he hadn't thought beyond what he'd just done.

Gods, he probably hadn't.

The Nightmare's roar jarred Astrid from her stupor and she whirled back to face the dragon, dodging as the beast jettisoned a column of flame. Astrid hopped back to her feet, running to lead the beast in a chase with her axe in hand. Hiccup sidled up to her, keeping her frantic pace as the spectators scrambled confusedly outside the arena.

"What are you doing!?" Astrid shouted at Hiccup as they ran.

"Honestly, I have no idea." Hiccup conceded, shouting so she could hear him over the madness. The Nightmare fired another blast of flame and missed, painting the wall behind them in its gel-like residue.

"Okay, that was its fourth shot. Maybe we can get him to use all of them." Astrid suggested. A Nightmare had ten shots. It would take some work, but it was a start.

Within an instant, the Monstrous Nightmare lifted off of the ground and lunged to cut them off, landing against the wall and snarling. Both teenagers instantly stopped in the face of the beast, frozen.

Without warning, Hiccup gently reached out for the Nightmare's snout. "Hey, there. It's okay. We don't want to hurt you."

The Nightmare snarled, and Astrid reached out to jerk Hiccup back. It snapped at Hiccup's hand, missing only as Astrid yanked the boy back toward her, and then the Nightmare opened its jaws and gas hissed in its throat to call upon another blast.

Astrid tackled Hiccup to the side, and a panicked yell slipped from both of them as the Nightmare's fire narrowly missed them. Astrid rolled and leaped back to her feet, flinching as she noticed a large, sizzling ember dwelling on one of her shoulder pads.

She heard a shout, and Astrid staggered back as the Nightmare blurred across her vision. The beast had focused on Hiccup, who had unfortunately fallen closer to it than Astrid, and picked the scrawny boy as its new target.

Hiccup split the air with a yell and ran for his life.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted, and she moved to come to his aid, but the Monstrous Nightmare moved so frantically that its huge tail swept across the ground and knocked her feet out from under her. Astrid landed on her back with a stunned cry, sitting up as quickly as she could and suddenly feeling a rush of vertigo as she did.

When her vision cleared, she saw Hiccup stumbling toward the miniature armory that had been set up at the side of the ring. He reached down and frantically grabbed a shield, raising it only for the Nightmare to come tearing through the wall of weapons and knock him down. The beast whirled on the fallen boy, snarling at the petrified boy at its feet.

Astrid was too far away from them. She spotted a lightweight hammer on the ground a few feet away and bent down to grab it, expertly slinging the object at the dragon. The weapon hit the Nightmare across its face in a heavy backhand, shifting its attention instantly to her. Astrid raised her axe, beckoning the beast to her. The Nightmare took two steps away from Hiccup, and the boy promptly scrambled away.

The Monstrous Nightmare noticed his escape and once again turned on him.

The metal gate behind Astrid sang as it was thrown open. _"Here! This way!"_ Stoick bellowed, and Astrid needn't be told twice.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted and beckoned for him to run to her and his dad. The skinny boy complied; every step driven by mortal fear. Astrid turned to flee as well, hearing the sound of the Nightmare's claws scraping against the floor.

She stumbled into Stoick's protective grasp and heard the Nightmare snarl, turning to watch as Hiccup stumbled back from an errant blast of fire, his escape route instantly cut off. The Nightmare dove at Hiccup from behind, and the boy miraculously ducked and stumbled away in the other direction, avoiding the dragon entirely as it caught itself on the stone wall.

Infuriated, the Nightmare lunged back after its intended prey, catching Hiccup's boot with one of its front claws and tripping the boy. Hiccup broke his fall and swiftly turned onto his back, only for the Nightmare to step over him and press him down, caging his body where it laid with its long back claws. Hiccup tensed and thrashed against the Nightmare's dreaded talons, but it was no use and the Nightmare snarled down at him.

The dragon had shots to spare.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled, surging out of Stoick's grip.

"Astrid, no!" Stoick protested, but his shout fell on deaf ears. Astrid hefted her axe again and made to charge the dragon holding down her friend, only for an earsplitting screech to shut her down.

An earsplitting screech that she would recognize _anywhere._

A new wave of panic slipped into the crowd like a shot, and before Astrid could even look in the direction of the unmistakable scream, one side of the arena roofing exploded. The resulting concussive force threw Astrid to the ground and her axe clattered to the ground beside her. She heard _something_ land inside the arena. Smoke started to fill the ring and she heard the Monstrous Nightmare snarl. There was an accompanying growl and the sound of struggle before it was suddenly dragged into the open, a lithe jet-black dragon throwing the larger Nightmare back.

The smoke cleared quickly and Toothless roared at the Monstrous Nightmare, frantically looking back and forth for any additional enemies. Finding none, the dragon focused wholly on the Nightmare and charged. The larger red dragon fought back viciously, quickly pinning Toothless on his back. The Night Fury snarled and defended itself, and for the first time Astrid noticed the leather straps fastening the saddle to his body.

If anyone else had noticed them, Astrid couldn't tell. The collective village of Vikings watching the scrum appeared to be too much in awe at the sight of a Night Fury in broad daylight. Even without a single person in the audience who had physically seen one for themselves, there was no mistaking this second dragon's breed. Fast, jet-black, and that terrifying scream that every Viking learned to fear from a young age? No one would wonder about what kind of beast they were staring at.

Either way, this was bad. This was _not_ how things were supposed to go.

Toothless managed to kick the Nightmare off with his back legs, returning to his feet and roaring ferociously. The Nightmare tried to match Toothless' furious roars, snarling and spitting back at the black dragon, but Toothless merely continued to roar defensively, and the Nightmare soon got the message. The dragon retreated, its desire to fight having slipped away.

Hiccup scrambled up from his vulnerable place on the floor, running to Toothless. The Night Fury crooned affectionately, but Hiccup was nothing short of panicked.

Astrid quickly saw why. The Vikings in attendance had suddenly been worked into a frenzy. The arrival of this exceedingly rare dragon had spawned a new emotion in the horde. There was only one thing on their minds now.

_Kill._

"Toothless, you've got to get out of here." Hiccup stammered. The Night Fury refused, seeing so many enemies in the form of Vikings that to the dragon, the threat was surely not ended. "Please, go!" Hiccup pleaded again, trying to shove the stubborn dragon.

Astrid saw Spitelout drop into the ring, weapon drawn, and the dam immediately broke after that. Vikings poured into the arena, each hoping to be the one to slay the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself.

Hiccup looked in Astrid's direction and his face filled with sudden fear. The fear, however, wasn't for her.

"No! Dad, he won't hurt you!" Hiccup yelled, and Astrid was nearly knocked off of her feet (again) as a hulking shape with a long red beard thundered past her, fingers locked around the shaft of what had to be one of the largest battle axes that Astrid had ever seen.

"Stoick, no!" Astrid shouted, but her yell fell on deaf ears.

Toothless seemed keen to prove Hiccup wrong, scrambling forward to meet the chief of the tribe. Three Vikings converged upon the black dragon, but Toothless quickly countered their attacks and dispatched them as if they were children. With a clear path toward the advancing chief, Toothless charged anew, diving at just the right moment to tackle Stoick before he could swing his axe in a lethal arc. Stoick's back hit the ground and man and dragon rolled over once before Toothless pinned the red-haired warrior to the ground, muscular legs holding fast.

Everyone stopped cold as the deadliest dragon of them all moved to kill the chief right before their eyes. Toothless reared back, summoning the damning gas in his throat that signaled a lethal plasma blast. Even Stoick grew panicked, suddenly staring certain death in its black face.

"Toothless, stop! No! _No!"_ Hiccup yelled, and miraculously, Toothless stopped.

The Night Fury turned to look at Hiccup, warbling with an almost endearing confusion. Hiccup stood, tense, his arm extended in a desperate plea and frozen in his tracks.

In that moment, Astrid realized why Hiccup had wanted to leave.

They would _never_ fit in.

"_Get it!"_ someone roared, and the nearest Viking barreled into Toothless' head, tackling the dragon off of Stoick. A handful of others stormed the writhing dragon and piled on top of the Night Fury, holding its mouth closed and its body down.

"No!" Hiccup cried, futilely running at the Vikings holding Toothless down. Astrid's heart broke and she ran to meet him, cutting off the boy's path and holding him tight. "Don't hurt him, please don't hurt him!" Hiccup moaned, thrashing against Astrid's hold.

"Hiccup, stop. Stop." Astrid pleaded with him, "It's over. We lost." Astrid fixed her eyes on him and he met her gaze. His breathing slowed and he faltered, accepting it. They had failed.

She held him tight in a sort-of hug, and Astrid looked up to see her parents standing nearby. Edna's hands were clasped over her mouth in shock, and Ingvar stared in disbelief at the Night Fury, his battle axe limp at his side.

When Astrid gently pulled back and looked at Hiccup, he wasn't focused on her anymore. His gaze was fixed straight ahead, locked onto his father. Astrid followed Hiccup's eyes and her stomach dropped as she locked eyes as well with Stoick the Vast. The chief had been helped up, his helmet lost and his red hair slick with sweat, but there was nothing in his eyes but pure, unadulterated fury.

Stoick's furious green eyes flicked to Astrid as well, and she knew that her little stunt had not been forgotten. Whispers suddenly circulated around the Vikings clustered in the ring. All eyes were on either the chief or the Night Fury, and from the whispers Astrid knew that everyone had seen the contraptions on the dragon's body.

The pieces came together for everyone in the crowd, especially for Stoick. The chief handed his axe to the nearest man, heaving out a short, hot exhale that could've warmed the lands of Niflheim.

"Put it with the others," Stoick sneered, _"and take them away."_

* * *

**Well, Stoick's mad. Hiccup and Astrid's plan failed, and now it's time for consequences. Since they were both clearly in on it, it's not going to be as simple as getting tossed into the Great Hall and lectured, where they can still ultimately walk freely around the village.**

**Anyway, with that thought I'll see you all again one day next week. I'd appreciate any sort of review enormously! Thanks again!**


	19. All My Secrets

**Hello again, and welcome to the next chapter. I'm a little on the fence about this one, primarily with some of the dialogue, but I'm gonna roll with it. Stoick is probably behaving rather irrationally here, but I think that's the point. He's boar-headed and stubborn as the day is long, and it almost gets his entire tribe killed before he comes around.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviews, positive or negative, and I hope you'll send another one when you finish reading this chapter.**

* * *

**19\. All My Secrets**

The cell door creaked as it was dragged open, metal edges rusted and worn from years of irregular use. Berk didn't have many prisoners anymore, apart from the occasional Viking that had a little too much mead and needed to be in a place where they could burn off their intoxication without harming anyone.

It was practically a special occasion to have multiple prisoners at one time.

Astrid wondered, morbidly, if anyone would celebrate their imprisonment.

A grossly muscular arm shoved her inside the cell and dashed those thoughts, making her stumble toward the back of the tiny room. She caught herself on the dark cobblestone wall, and the cell door screeched as it was slammed shut behind her. She heard the sound of the lock turning into place.

Astrid had never actually seen Berk's prisons before. The cells were beneath the Great Hall for the sake of saving material. Better to put the jail in the basement instead of building a whole new foundation on land that they didn't have. The cobblestone wall at her back was sturdy, while thick metal bars extended on either side of her to form the shape of the small cell. Next to her, part of the wall jutted out and formed an alcove, offering some privacy alongside a chamber pot. A steel door was fixed inside the metal frame directly in front of her, and on the other end of the door stood a brawny, greasy-looking Viking.

The cell right next to her was opened with a similar screeching whine of metal, and Astrid saw Hiccup get flung inside the cell much in the same manner as she. The cell door likewise slammed shut behind him and was locked in place.

The floor seemed to shake as Stoick the Vast tore through the entrance of the jail and stepped into view from the hallway, his features twisted into a relentless mask of anger. "Leave us," he growled, and the two Vikings who had escorted Hiccup and Astrid to their cells walked outside without a word.

Hiccup had stepped up to the door of his cell, wrapping his fingers around the dark metal. "Dad?" he asked with a shiver.

Stoick paced around the room, avoiding looking down on his son. "I should've known. How could I have been so _stupid?"_

"Dad, please, just—"

"Stop." Stoick interrupted, turning a callous eye on Hiccup. The scrawny boy flinched back, just his father's angry gaze enough to startle him. Carefully, Astrid stepped up to her own cell door, staying silent and listening. "We had a deal, and you played me for a fool, Hiccup! Played everyone for a fool! And for _what?"_

Stoick's furious eyes flicked over to Astrid, and he bristled further. "And you—I trusted you, and instead not only are you out there aiding and abetting the enemy, you're working at it together!"

"They're only the enemy because you _make_ them the enemy!" Astrid answered, subconsciously baring her teeth and knowing that in some villages, talking back to the Chief like she'd just done could be considered a crime.

Stoick chuckled darkly at that and turned on Hiccup once more, "What have you poisoned her with, hmm?"

Astrid wouldn't have that. Everything out there had been _her_ decision, not Hiccup's. Ill-advised decisions, maybe, but they'd been hers and hers alone. "Hiccup didn't _poison_ me with anything, he showed me the truth! You don't know anything about them, Chief."

"I don't know anything about them?" Stoick bristled, "I know that they besiege my home, that they steal the food meant for my people. I know that they maim and kill my friends. I know that they took my wife away from me and deprived Hiccup of a mother before he was old enough to crawl!"

"That may be, Chief, and I'm truly sorry for your loss, but fighting them only makes things worse." Astrid defended.

Stoick cut her off with a derisive snort, shaking his head.

"Dad, I'm sorry. I am." Hiccup cut in, pleading, "I did this. Let Astrid go, and punish me all you like, just please don't hurt her and Toothless."

Stoick skipped over the mention of Astrid and accosted his son with another contemptuous glare. The Chief sneered, "The dragon? _That's _what you're worried about? Not the people that you put in danger, the people that thing almost _killed?"_

"He was just protecting me! He isn't dangerous, none of them are!" Hiccup yelled, his voice raising as he snapped back at his father.

Stoick fumed, shouting, "Not dangerous!? They murdered your mother!"

"Do you honestly think I don't know that!?" Hiccup shouted back, "I'm well aware of what happened to Mom, _Dad._ It's why I thought I wanted to kill dragons—I _could've_ killed a dragon. I could've walked back into the village the day I found Toothless and been a hero! But instead I chose to put aside all of my hatred, and to take a look and try to understand these creatures; something that none of you could ever do!"

"They've killed _hundreds_ of us!" Stoick roared, ignoring Hiccup's insistence. It was like watching two yaks ram their heads into a wall. Astrid was starting to see the family resemblance.

"And we've killed _thousands _of them!" Hiccup answered, flailing his arms in a brief gesture. "I'm just trying to stop the fighting, Dad. _We're_ trying to stop the fighting! Astrid and I have seen what they're really like, and we know that there's another way."

"Another way? Dragons are a scourge on our village! They're evil, and they have to be _killed. _I raised you better than this."

Hiccup shook his head, "No, you're wrong. Dragons are kind, gentle creatures." Stoick scoffed. "When we try to kill them, they defend themselves, that's all it is!"

Stoick turned his back and placed his head in his hands. His angry exterior shrank, and he spoke with a hoarse despair, sounding almost hysterical, "I should've seen the signs. My own son, a dragon-lover."

"Dad, please, just give me a chance to show you what I mean. I can prove everything to you. They raid us because they don't have a choice." Hiccup said, calmer now. Stoick shook his head in disbelief, but Hiccup continued, "If they don't bring enough food back, they'll be eaten themselves. There's something else on their island, Dad,"

_That_ suddenly got Stoick's attention.

"something that controls them, and—"

"Their island!?" the Chief raised his voice, startling Hiccup into silence. Stoick took a thunderous step forward and glared down at Hiccup through the bars of his cell, his anger stoked anew. "You've been to the nest?" Astrid gulped.

Hiccup stammered, wringing his hands repeatedly and rambling, "D-Did I say nest? Because I-I-I don't remember using that, uh, that exact word, I—"

The damage was done. Stoick wasn't stupid. If he could've stepped closer to Hiccup, he would've, so Stoick merely pressed his huge hands against the metal cell door, his eyes pulsing with fury.

"How did you find it?"

Hiccup broke all too easily.

"I-I don't know how, Toothless found it. It's so foggy, o-only a dragon can find the island, so—"

Stoick looked up, putting the pieces together and dreaming up a terrible solution. It clicked in Hiccup's mind as well, and he immediately panicked.

"Oh, no. No, no, Dad, you don't understand. T-t-this thing, it's like nothing you've ever seen! It's a dragon the size of a mountain. You can't just sail over there and kill the thing!"

"I'll deal with you both when we return," Stoick rasped. He was already picturing his plan, and nothing that Hiccup could say would change the chief's mind.

Astrid yelped helplessly, holding onto some thin string of hope that Stoick might listen to her instead. "Stoick, you can't! Please listen to us! You'll die!" she cried, but the chief paid her no heed either.

"Dad, I promise you that you can't win this one." Hiccup stammered desperately. Stoick continued to ignore him and stepped towards the door. Hiccup scrambled as far to the side as his cell would allow, before he couldn't scoot any further and could only reach for his father. Any resolve the boy might've had crumbled into panic. "We have to stop and think about this, please, Dad!"

Hiccup threw his arm through the space in the cell's metal frame, latching his fingers around Stoick's arm. At the soonest sensation of contact, Stoick ripped his arm away, and Hiccup's skinny arm dropped limply as Stoick stepped out of range.

The chief's eyes smoldered with rage.

"_We_ will do nothing together. The two of you have lied, cheated, and deceived both me and the entire tribe. Worst of all, you've betrayed us for _them. _You aren't Vikings," Stoick snarled, flicking a glare to Astrid. He looked back at Hiccup and softened, but not completely, as if he were holding onto his anger for dear life. "And you're not my son."

Astrid sucked in a sharp, shocked breath and Hiccup flinched, staggering back just a step. Stoick didn't repent and stepped out of the jail, swinging open the door and bellowing into the village.

"_Ready the ships!"_

The jail door slammed shut, leaving Hiccup and Astrid alone in painful silence. Hiccup shook and he carefully looked over to Astrid, green eyes flaring with shock. Astrid's face locked in a frown, and she opened her mouth to speak, but then quickly closed it.

There was nothing to say.

* * *

The hysteria ended in the time that Stoick was away. Once he returned, the work began.

Nearly every able hand was put to work. The orders were to ready the ships, and the word passed like lightning from Thor's hammer. Sails, armor, and weapons of every size and shape were carried down the ramps and onto the docks toward the ships. Every last ship in the fleet was to be made ready for a journey to Helheim's Gate. The _final _journey.

Stoick the Vast stood on the cliff, watching over the port from above as his people handled the duties of preparing the ships. He'd stormed out of the jail and the weight of what he'd said had dawned on him. In one fell swoop, he'd cast his son aside and condemned the boy's promised.

But he had to be strong, for his people and for those they'd all lost to the dragons. All at once, he'd realized how to find the nest. With the Night Fury's aid, they would finish this war. The traitors would be dealt with once the expedition returned victorious.

Footsteps approaching his side drew Stoick's attention. A tall man with wispy blonde hair and a particularly large battle axe thrown over his shoulder stepped up beside the chief, avoiding eye contact and focusing on the cold sea.

"Stoick," Ingvar Hofferson greeted.

"Ingvar."

"A fine mess, that."

Stoick blew hot air from his nose. The Hofferson patriarch hadn't approached him for chit-chat. "What can I help you with, Ingvar?"

Ingvar answered with a long pause before speaking, "I wanted to ask what you plan to do with my daughter."

"She is being held in the prisons where she can be watched until we return."

"Do you mean to charge her?"

"They conspired against Berk."

"Stoick, I don't much approve of what apparently happened down there in the ring either, but surely there are less hasty responses than this," Ingvar contested.

Stoick promptly interrupted, "Nonsense. We know how to find the nest, and we don't have much time. When the dragons have been forced out, I will turn my attention to the traitors."

"My daughter is no traitor!" Ingvar snapped.

"Then what is she? Do you have another term for a dragon-lover? Like it or not, Ingvar, our children have gone behind our backs and against their people. What exactly would you call that?" Stoick countered.

"And what will you do when it comes time to try Hiccup for those crimes? Will you cast my daughter out and let your son remain?"

Stoick seethed. Ingvar had never been one to speak out. He supposed he should've seen it coming, he had locked up the man's daughter after all. But Astrid was a traitor, just as much as Hiccup was.

But could he exile Hiccup? Could he really bring himself to send away his last memory of his dear Val? As the Chief, he was expected to carry out even, blind justice. No one on Berk could be spared a punishment because of who their father was, even if their father was the _Chief._

Stoick was sure of one thing. The dragons and their nest were of the utmost importance right now, and he could not be distracted from that.

"Do you desire an annulment?" Stoick asked, almost robotically.

Ingvar squinted, incredulous. "What?"

"Do you wish for me to dissolve the contract between Hiccup and Astrid?" Stoick internally winced, pained by putting names to the faces of the two teens now accused of treason.

Ingvar scoffed, "No, I—"

"Then the matter of the traitors no longer concerns you. They will be dealt with when we return," Stoick said, "and that is the _end_ of the discussion."

Ingvar went silent, and after casting looks back and forth between Stoick and the docks, he stalked down the ramp to the ships to proceed with helping prepare the fleet. From what Stoick could tell, they were nearly ready to set sail. There was just one thing missing.

"Where is that damned dragon?" Stoick bellowed, his voice carrying from the cliffs to the village and the port alike.

"_Coming, Chief!"_ someone shouted from down the path, and Stoick only needed to look over to see the Night Fury being rolled towards him in chains. The beast was situated on a long flat plank mounted on wheels, and it thrashed against the complex restraints fastened around its body. A thick wooden ring was clamped shut around its neck, and a muzzle held its mouth closed. Thick, heavy chains extended from the ring to weigh the dragon down and keep it immobile.

"Take it to my ship," Stoick ordered.

"Aye, Chief."

The Night Fury disappeared down the ramp, but Stoick reached out to clasp a man's shoulder. The rest of the group wheeling the imprisoned dragon paid no heed, continuing to push the Night Fury along.

"Flatface, find one of the young warriors we're leaving behind and assign them to guard Edna Hofferson. I'll not have her freeing her daughter from prison while we're away. Be quick about it, I want to leave immediately."

"At once, Chief," the Viking called Flatface answered, and he ran off in the direction of the village.

Stoick thundered down the ramp to the docks, watching as men leaped into boats and clamored about some things or other things. He passed man after man and woman after woman before turning down the main dock to reach his ship at the front of the fleet.

The Night Fury was on board by the time he reached the ship, thrashing and baying and endeavoring to free itself. It was useless, but still the dragon tried. It was, in a way, admirable.

Stoick switched back to that hard look, eyeing the jet-black dragon with smoldering eyes. Gobber waved from the opposite end of the ship and approached, slightly exaggerating his limp as he hobbled.

"We're ready, Stoick," Gobber reported.

"Good. We sail for Helheim's Gate. The devil will lead us home from there." Stoick gestured at the imprisoned Night Fury.

Flatface returned with speed a moment later, finding the Chief on the deck and running. Breathlessly, he reported, "Chief. Snagtooth has volunteered to stand guard over Edna Hofferson. She won't go anywhere on his watch."

"Thank you, Flatface. Get to your ship," Stoick answered, and Flatface nodded before whirling around and bolting to one of the ships closer to the back of the fleet.

When Stoick looked back at Gobber, the old blacksmith was eyeing him incredulously. "Yer really that concerned about Edna?"

"What's it to you?" Stoick answered with a stormy glare. He was just about tired of having his decisions questioned.

Gobber flinched. He hadn't seen Stoick like this in a long time. The man was often gruff, but the look of almost murderous rage was a rare one for the Chief of Berk. When he was like this, he was not to be trifled with. "It's nothin', Stoick."

"Good." Stoick hopped from the deck onto the ship, feeling the boat rock side to side as it accepted his weight. "Let's get moving."

Gobber turned and waved his arm to signal the horn. In response, a deep horn split the day with its call, the sails of the lead ship unfurled, and the wind began to push the vessel forward. One by one, the ships behind them opened their sails and called upon the wind, drifting away from Berk after Stoick's ship.

Victory was at hand.

* * *

Hiccup stood on the ledge at the back of his cell, hands fastened around the bars guarding the small window. People bustled back and forth through the town, seemingly taunting him as they carried every piece of equipment and weaponry that they could and convened towards the docks. He'd yelled for someone, _anyone_ who could hear him, begging them to just listen and avoid sailing to certain death.

They didn't know what they were up against, he'd said. They had no idea what was waiting for them on that island.

But no one listened, whether they could hear him or not. And if they could, they would not be frightened by the ramblings of a mere boy accused of treason. What could he know, being just fifteen years old? The warriors heading for the ships were all at least into their fourth decade on Midgard, and they'd all slayed many dragons in their time. They were far more experienced than Hiccup, and infinitely more tenacious.

It was completely futile, Astrid knew. She suspected Hiccup knew this, too. Still, though, Hiccup kept trying, up until a loud, damning horn signaled the departure of the fleet and ended any microscopic hope that the Berkians wouldn't sail away to their doom. The village outside fell painfully silent.

Astrid almost looked back behind her as she heard Hiccup's feet finally hit the stone floor. She was seated against the bars shared by their separate cells, back pressed into the metal and staring off dejectedly into space.

Slowly, Hiccup sat against the shared wall as well, back pressing into the iron and leaving them just inches apart. Astrid looked up and turned her head so she could see him. Hiccup's head was dipped, buried in his hands and knees in defeat.

"What a mess." Astrid finally said, turning her head back so that she was looking straight ahead again. She felt Hiccup shift behind her. "You must feel horrible. You've lost everything, your father, your tribe, your best friend."

Hiccup sighed, "Thank you for summing that up, Astrid. Your input is much appreciated." He stood up again, pacing around the cell. "Odin's missing eye, why did I tell him that? What did I think my dad was going to do, let me out so I could show him what I meant? He never does that. I can't believe I was so stupid."

Astrid didn't answer, and Hiccup let out a long, lamenting sigh. "Why couldn't I have just killed that dragon when I found him in the woods? It would've been better for everyone."

"Yep. The rest of us would've done it." Astrid admitted, inserting herself back into the conversation. She stood up now, turning to face Hiccup even as he kept his back turned to her. "So, why didn't you?"

Hiccup didn't answer.

"Why didn't you, Hiccup?"

Hiccup sighed. "I don't know. I couldn't."

"That's not an answer and you know it."

Hiccup groaned, turning toward her and scowling, "Why do you wanna know all of a sudden? You never asked me about this."

"Well, I am now."

"Oh, for Thor's sake. In case you haven't noticed, Astrid, we're in _jail! _We _lost!"_

Astrid snatched the bars with her hands, knuckles white and heart pounding. _"I know that!_ In case you've forgotten, I was there! I turned my nose up at my entire heritage because I believed in you! And here we are, rotting in a couple of cells, and I still believe in you! If I didn't, I would've turned you in the day I found you in that cove." Astrid sighed, her anger fleeting. When she spoke next, she sounded sadder, and yet somehow more confident, like a Valkyrie about to ride off to war. She needed an answer. "After everything that's happened, _I still support you. _And I want to know _why_, of all people, when _you_ found that Night Fury as good as dead, why _you_ didn't kill it!"

"Fat lot of good that's done you," Hiccup lamented, almost cruelly, but she knew that he was just deflecting and trying to dodge her question.

_"Hiccup."_

Hiccup scoffed and he threw his arms in the air, "Oh, for the love of—fine!" He raised his hand at Astrid, quickly using his fingers to count off reasons, "I was a coward, I was weak, I wouldn't kill a dragon. Does that satisfy you?"

"You said wouldn't that time." Astrid pointed out.

"W-whatever, I wouldn't! And now, because of that, everyone we care about is going to die! Now, my dad has Toothless on a ship sailing for literal death and destruction, and he only cared to make sure to disown me before he set off." Hiccup snarled. "Face it, Astrid, I'm nothing but a disappointment and a failure. I'm useless."

Astrid's heart hurt. He wasn't a disappointment, and he wasn't useless. Not to her, anyway.

"Three _hundred_ years," Hiccup bemoaned, voice breaking as he placed special emphasis on _hundred_, "and I'm the first Viking who wouldn't kill a dragon."

The silence held over them for several moments until Astrid spoke.

"First to ride one, though," she said, and she swore she saw Hiccup perk up just a bit. This was her chance. "As far as I'm concerned, that makes you pretty brave. So...?"

"I…" Hiccup started nervously, "He was just lying there… it would've been so easy to…" Hiccup gestured a stabbing motion with his arm, "I knew I'd walk back into Berk a hero. I'd have my father's respect, I'd have songs written about me. _The boy who slew a Night Fury. _But I kept looking at him, and I realized that he wasn't a vicious animal like everyone said he was. It was like looking in a mirror. He looked as frightened of me as I was of him. And I wouldn't kill him because of that, because he wasn't an animal. He was just like me. Scared."

Astrid relented at that. She understood.

"I bet he's really frightened now. He's probably the only one on those ships that knows what's going to happen." Astrid said.

"Yeah… he's the smartest living thing in that entire fleet." Hiccup lamented.

The door to the prison suddenly flew open, slamming against the opposite wall as a husky figure stumbled in. The intruder scrambled just past Hiccup and Astrid's cells and suddenly stood up straight, a pitiful yelp coming from the person's throat.

The figure backed up, turned to face them, and readjusted his small helmet, covering the tufts of blonde hair poking out from under it. Stepping back a few paces, Fishlegs waddled into view, fastening his hands together at the fingers and thrumming them nervously against his large body.

"Um… hi."

"Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked, surging to the door of his cell.

Fishlegs flinched, as if the very sound of Hiccup's voice had surprised him. "Oh, that's my name, yes."

"What are you doing here?" Astrid asked.

"Well, I… everyone's left the village with Hiccup's dragon, something about sailing for the nest one last time." Fishlegs explained, "They left a few adults behind; Mrs. Ack, Astrid's mom, a handful of younger warriors, Bucket and Mulch. Bucket was supposed to be your guard—well actually it was supposed to be Mulch but he had to see to the livestock, so he gave the keys to Bucket. Stoick said no visitors, so I convinced Bucket to let me cover for him so he could milk the chickens. I… I had to come see you guys. I had a few questions to ask about… what happened out there." Fishlegs said.

Hiccup looked at Astrid, and she looked at him. "Well, uh…" Hiccup started.

Fishlegs took that as a 'fire away' and immediately rambled into his long list of questions. "They're saying that black dragon was a Night Fury. It was, right? H-how did you find one, and how did you tame it? Has that been where you were going every day after dragon training? What kind of things have you learned about Night Furies? It would be really awesome to add some things to the Dragon Manual since that page is blank. I think I know what Astrid was trying to do with the Monstrous Nightmare, but I don't really understand the logistics of it. Can all dragons be domesticated?"

Astrid flashed a look at Hiccup, and he seemed to be thinking along the same lines as her. If Fishlegs was covering for Bucket, he should have the keys to their cells. They'd had a massive stroke of luck. _This_ was their way out, but if they didn't move now, Fishlegs would keep them stuck here forever with his constant questions.

Hiccup looked back at Fishlegs and raised his arms, "Woah, Fishlegs, Fishlegs, hey!"

Fishlegs quieted and squeaked, "Oh! Um… sorry. I got sort of carried away there."

"It's okay. Look, you said you're covering for Bucket, right? Did he give you the cell keys?"

Fishlegs nodded quickly and fished a ring of keys out of his pocket, dangling them in the air, "Yup. Right here, why…" Fishlegs' eyes widened as he realized what Hiccup was getting at. "Oh."

"Fishlegs, listen to me, there's something bad at the dragons' nest. Something that's going to kill every last one of our people when they get there. They have _no chance_ at surviving." Hiccup explained. Fishlegs was visibly frightened. Hiccup continued, "We have to help them, but we can't do anything if we're locked up in here. If you let us out of here, Fishlegs, I will answer every question you could possibly ask once we're done. Deal?"

Fishlegs appeared to be wrestling greatly with the dilemma. Hiccup was driving a hard bargain, bribing him with the promise of knowledge, but he would also be helping traitors if he let Hiccup and Astrid out of their cells.

"I shouldn't..." he mumbled, but he couldn't quite shake the images from his mind.

Astrid had gotten that Nightmare to calm down and nearly accept her touch. Astrid wasn't one to tell a pack of lies, and she'd claimed in the ring that they didn't have to kill dragons, that they weren't what Berk thought they were.

A claim like that would be pretty disputable if it had come from Hiccup. But from Astrid?

"Fishlegs?"

The husky boy looked up at Hiccup, and then down at the ring of keys dangling from his hand.

"Okay, but _please_ don't tell the chief that I'm the one who let you guys out of jail." Fishlegs said. He surged to the door of Hiccup's cell and fumbled with the keys, trying a handful of them before he got the right one. The cell door swung open and Fishlegs quickly went to Astrid's door, unlocking her cell with less difficulty.

Hiccup scrambled out of his cell, anxious. Astrid followed suit, exiting her opened cell and offering Fishlegs a brief, grateful nod. "So, um, what's the plan?" Fishlegs squeaked, nervous.

"I need you to find Snotlout and the twins. We need all of the help we can get. Once you find them, bring them to the arena. You'll get answers then, I promise." Hiccup said. Fishlegs nodded, surprisingly obedient, and ran out of the jail.

"What are you gonna do?" Astrid asked. Hiccup looked at her, finding that she was watching him intently, her blue gaze almost cautionary.

Hiccup shrugged. "Something stupid."

Astrid snorted, "That's a start, but you've kind of already done that."

Hiccup ignored the urge to roll his eyes. For once, the situation was actually too serious for him to crack a joke or be sarcastic. He pictured his plan and smiled.

"Then something crazy." Hiccup offered.

Astrid grinned. "That's more like it."


	20. Race to Dragon Island

**Thanks again to all who are supporting this story. I'm pumped about this chapter and the next one. You guys know what it's gonna be. I hope you guys like the changes and the added details. And props if you can figure out what movie this chapter takes its title from.**

**If you like what you read here, please consider sending in a review! It makes me really happy to read people's thoughts on this story. Otherwise, I'll see you guys again next week. Happy reading!**

* * *

**_20\. Race to Dragon Island_**

The village was quiet as the traitors ran through it, careful to avoid the small packs of young warriors wandering around the town. Most of those left behind by the expedition were huddled up in their homes from the cold, but it seemed that the few fighters left on Berk had been ordered by Stoick to keep a sharp eye. Or they were just appreciating the weather. It was sunny out, after all.

It was enough to keep Hiccup and Astrid light on their feet, weaving behind buildings and peeking around corners before moving along. Progress was slow, but soon they were at the edge of the village and there was nothing but the arena in front of them. They made sure the coast was clear, but before Hiccup could dart ahead, Astrid grabbed him on the shoulder as she realized she was missing something. "Wait!"

Hiccup seized up and whirled around. "What? What is it?" he asked quickly, as jumpy as he'd ever been. He looked back around the corner, paranoid that someone was going to hear or see them and realize they'd escaped from jail.

"I need my axe. We need to go find my mom." Astrid said, "Your dad will have left her here and she should have it in the house."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Let's go." Astrid insisted. She swiveled around and started to backtrack, despite Hiccup's initial protesting. He cursed under his breath, knowing she was probably right. He was unarmed, and things would probably be safer in the short run if one of them had a weapon.

The detour was quick, what with Astrid's house being just up the hills on the western side of the island. The house was contemporary, matching the style of the other homes in Berk. The base of the structure was built from dark cobblestone and wooden planks rose up to build the rest of the frame. Hanging above the entrance was a dragon-like figure mimicking the head of a longship, similar to most Berkian homes.

They approached the front door, and Hiccup found himself overcome with an unnerving sense of foreboding. Something didn't feel right. Astrid stepped up and knocked on the door, apparently immune to the sensation and tapping her foot on the ground rapidly. Several seconds passed and she knocked again, this time much more urgently.

The door swung open almost immediately after the second set of knocks, revealing the ugly mug of a Berkian with thick, wiry black hair and crooked teeth. The stranger startled, probably as surprised to see Hiccup and Astrid on the doorstep as the two teens were to see him in the house.

Before the Viking could utter a word, there was a loud _clang_ and the Viking slumped over sideways, losing consciousness before he even hit the floor.

The door was opened further, and Edna Hofferson appeared in the doorway, knuckles white around the shaft of a hammer. Upon seeing Astrid, her face flushed with surprise, and a tear of joy welled up in one of her blue eyes.

"Oh, Astrid!" she half-cried and seized her daughter in a tight hug. Astrid wrapped her arms around her mother and buried her head in her shoulder, a wave of relief washing over her.

"Mom!" she squeaked, emotion suddenly welling through the cracks.

"Are you all right? Did they hurt you?" Edna asked as she pulled away, frantically searching her daughter for any sort of blemish. Next to each other, the family resemblance was clear. They both shared the same soft, curved face, and their blonde curls were identical—though Edna's were slightly graying from age and no longer possessed the same striking color.

"No, I'm fine. I'm okay." Astrid assured her. She looked down at the unconscious Viking at her feet. He was a younger warrior that couldn't have been more than five years older than her, "What was he doing here?"

"Stoick assigned Snagtooth here to guard me_._ Had reason to suspect that I would break you out of jail." Edna scoffed, "I must hand it to him, though. That _was_ my entire plan."

"Is he going to be alright?"

"I know for a fact that Snagtooth has been struck over the head by heavy objects a couple of times in the past. He'll be fine."

Astrid nodded and then turned to her mother. "Stoick's gone to find the nest."

Edna nodded, "I know. Your father is with him."

Hiccup suddenly cut in, stepping inside from the doorway and out of its shadow. "They're all going to die."

Edna looked past Astrid, eyes widening as she took in Hiccup's image. "Hiccup! I hadn't even seen you there. Are you all right, child?"

"Mom, we need to move." Astrid interrupted, impatient. Edna studied her daughter for a moment, puzzled. "Stoick's going to use Toothless to guide them to the nest, and the queen is going to kill all of them when they get there."

"The queen?"

"We've been there before. The dragons have a queen that controls them and forces them to raid villages and bring her food. If they don't bring back enough, she eats them instead." Hiccup explained, "She's huge, at least as long as a dozen ships end-to-end. They can't kill her—they won't be able to."

Edna bit her lip, suddenly worried. "I assume you two are off to help them?"

"That's the plan."

"Then I won't hold you up. But I expect you will want one thing, Astrid." Edna said. She shuffled away to the wall behind the door, returning with Astrid's axe in hand.

Astrid's eyes lit up and she took the axe, marveling at the weapon like it was the first time she'd laid eyes on it. Balancing the blade in her hand, she twirled the axe. "Hello again," she said to the weapon, "Just who I wanted to see."

"I would fret and beg you to stay for your safety, but I'm afraid I'm smarter than that. Go. If what you say is true, you'll need to be quick." Edna insisted.

Astrid pulled her mom into a fierce hug, squeezing her a little too hard for just a moment. If something terrible happened and this was the last time they saw each other, she wanted her feelings to be clear. "Thank you, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, Astrid." Edna answered. Astrid pulled away and surged out the door, barreling past Hiccup. The skinny boy turned to follow, but Edna called him back. "Hiccup, hold a moment."

Hiccup turned back, green eyes meeting Edna's blue ones. Again, he saw the resemblance between mother and daughter up close. Edna took one step closer to him and placed her hand on his. "You remind me so much of your mother. Although we didn't know each other exceptionally well, I miss her every day. She was a good woman."

"Thank you." Hiccup said.

"You take care of my daughter out there, you hear me?" Edna ordered him, suddenly looking fierce. It startled Hiccup, seeing such a relaxed and sweet woman suddenly become stern. There was no doubt where Astrid had gotten her signature glare from. "She's everything to me and Ingvar."

Hiccup nodded. "I will." He looked back, watching her run. She hadn't noticed that he wasn't following her yet. He looked back at Edna, more honest than he'd ever been, "She's everything to me, too."

Edna nodded, and Hiccup slipped away from her, breaking into a run to catch up with Astrid.

* * *

Hiccup cranked open the door to the cell and the Deadly Nadder surged out, squawking with confusion as she was released in broad daylight. Upon seeing Astrid standing before her, the dragon immediately became excited and half-danced over to her.

"Hi, girl!" Astrid beamed, "I'm sorry I didn't come visit you last night. Things have been hectic."

"_Rawk!"_ the Nadder squawked. She started to preen Astrid, singing and squawking in the act. Astrid squirmed and giggled, the Nadder's delightful ministrations slightly tickling her body.

"She really likes you." Hiccup commented, wearing a wide grin.

"I think the feeling is mutual." Astrid smiled. She turned to the dragon, "Okay, girl, this isn't our usual visit. Some stuff has happened and we're going to need your help. Do you think you could give us a hand?"

The dragon squawked agreeably and nuzzled up against Astrid, apparently willing to do anything for the Viking girl.

"To think I wanted to kill these guys…" Astrid murmured, softly scratching the Nadder's neck.

"_Dragon!"_

Astrid and Hiccup looked up to see the others. Fishlegs had held up his end of the bargain, fetching Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut. Unfortunately, he hadn't informed them—or even been able to inform them, really—of what exactly Hiccup's plan was.

So, when Snotlout spotted the Nadder standing so close to Astrid, he went into attack mode, swinging into the arena from above and drawing a knife. Astrid's Nadder did _not_ approve. The dragon squawked and immediately backed away, hissing and priming the rings of spines lining its tail.

"No!" Astrid shouted, stepping in between Snotlout and the dragon and thrusting both of her hands to either one of them. The Nadder stalled and Snotlout skidded to a stop, both of them confused. Astrid whirled on Snotlout, "Put it down, Snotlout."

The boisterous boy flinched, "But…"

"_Put. It. Down."_

Snotlout gulped at Astrid's tone and gently set his weapon on the ground. The Nadder behind Astrid glanced past Snotlout, eyeing the twins' weapons next.

"That goes for you two as well." Astrid warned, and the Thorston twins exchanged a glance before shrugging and setting down their spears. They knew when Astrid meant business. Up above, Fishlegs squeezed his way underneath the bars, failing to find a decent foothold on the way down and yelping as he fell to the floor.

"Astrid, you want to explain what the _Hel_ is going on?" Snotlout snapped.

Hiccup cut in, "We're going to save our people. And you're going to help us."

"That doesn't explain what you're doing with a dragon!"

"Actually, it explains it perfectly."

Fishlegs stepped forward, recovered from his fall. "Um, Hiccup? W-what exactly _is_ the plan?"

Hiccup smiled. "It's better that I show you."

The next thing the teens knew, Hiccup was carefully backing out of a dragon's cell, hand calmly outstretched above the snout of the Monstrous Nightmare. The normally-fearsome dragon was as calm as could be, gently following Hiccup as he stepped backwards and guided the creature towards the others.

Astrid glanced over, gauging the others' reactions. Fishlegs' mouth was hanging open, while the twins both squirmed in varying degrees of awe at the sight of Hiccup guiding a beast many times his size like a sheep.

Snotlout, on the other hand, was terribly uncomfortable. Acting on instinct, he carefully reached down to his feet, where the end of a broken spear was lying quietly on the ground, a leftover from the carnage of this morning. Astrid's arm snapped out to Snotlout's shoulder, and the black-haired boy looked up at her with abject fear in his eyes.

"Uh-uh." Astrid warned, and Snotlout reluctantly released his hold on the spearhead. Hiccup approached them now, guiding the Nightmare towards Snotlout. The proud boy nearly shrieked as Hiccup grabbed his hand and started to lead it over to the dragon.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Snotlout snapped, terrified.

"It's okay." Hiccup assured him, and Snotlout allowed him to bring his hand to the dragon's snout. Snotlout flinched as his hand met rough scales, but the sudden warmth in his palm instantly relaxed him.

The Nightmare's calm eyes drifted to Snotlout and an amazed smile crossed the boy's face. Heat rolled over his hand in waves, but it didn't burn him. Satisfied, Hiccup started to walk away.

"Where're you going?" Snotlout cried, unsure what to do. Hiccup merely waved as he headed back for the cells to release another dragon.

In minutes, the twins had been introduced to the arena's resident Hideous Zippleback, and Fishlegs was paired with the Gronckle. The husky boy was undoubtedly the most thrilled with his new friend, and he walked circles around the pacified dragon to study its various features. Ruff and Tuff were working on mounting their Zippleback, droning excitedly about how awesomely dangerous the two-headed dragon was.

Satisfied, Hiccup approached Astrid, who was lovingly scratching the Deadly Nadder's chin. "I think I know what you want to do." Astrid said.

"You always were great at reading me." Hiccup quipped, "Do you think they can handle it?"

"I'm not sure that they have a choice. They'll definitely have to figure things out on the fly."

"Literally…" Hiccup mused. He showed her his hand, "I grabbed some rope from the bin for everyone. It's the best we'll be able to do without saddles."

"We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard." Astrid said with a smile.

Hiccup slouched as Astrid quoted his father and she paled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"No, no, it's fine." Hiccup replied, "I promise. We have to do this. Whatever happens after, happens. What matters right now is saving our tribe."

"We're with you, dude."

Hiccup and Astrid both looked over, seeing the teens assembled with their dragons. Tuffnut grinned stupidly. "Lucky for you, you've got the world's most _deadly weapon_ on your side. That's _me,_ by the way."

Ruffnut butted her twin aside and scowled. "You're crazy!" she snapped at Hiccup, making the boy flinch. Then Ruffnut leaned in _extra_ close, looking around conspiratorially before she whispered, _"I like that."_

"Uh…" Hiccup droned, not at all comfortable with Ruffnut's sudden _advances._

Astrid quickly snatched the long horn of Ruffnut's helmet and dragged her out of the way, chastising the other girl. "Alright, alright, get out of here. This one's already accounted for."

Hiccup blushed as Astrid shoved Ruffnut away from them, meeting her eyes as she turned back for all of a second and then looking at his feet. He certainly didn't disapprove of Astrid _claiming_ him.

Snotlout cleared his throat, gesturing with confusion, "Okay, so, like… what's the plan?"

Hiccup smiled. "First… we fly."

* * *

The wind whipped through Astrid's hair as she zoomed through the sky. Her Nadder squawked happily, thrilled to truly be in the air again. Astrid chanced a glance down at the blurry sea below them, difficult to see thanks to the speed they were moving at.

Immediately behind her, Hiccup's arms were tentatively wrapped around her to steady himself. He was riding on the dragon's back with her for the time being. The other teens flapped up alongside them, going through varying degrees of difficulty as they tried to control their new aerial mounts.

"Get your stupid dragon to fly straight!" Tuffnut snapped at Ruffnut.

Ruffnut quickly snapped back, "How about _you_ get _your_ stupid dragon to fly straight?"

"Your dragon head is clearly trying to fly to the right!"

"_Your _dragon head is trying to fly to the _left_!"

The twins had been paired with the Zippleback alongside each other, Ruff on the right and Tuff on the left. In lieu of saddles, they rode on the dragon's long necks, holding themselves steady on the plate-like protrusions lining the beast's neck. They each held the end of a rope in their free hand, the rest of the cord looped snugly around the Zippleback's necks.

Meanwhile, to the left, Fishlegs was actually having a rather easy time with the Gronckle. His own intellectual affinity for dragons was certainly helping, and his only real struggle was balancing on the stout beast. He looked a tad ridiculous, possessing such a large build and yet being paired with the smallest dragon of the bunch, but it didn't seem to bother Fishlegs as he showered the Gronckle with praise, his positive reinforcement making the burly dragon beam.

Finally, there was Snotlout. The Jorgenson boy was having the most difficulty of them all, trying to control such a large dragon in the Monstrous Nightmare. His hands were fastened around the horns growing from the Nightmare's neck, using them to tug and steer the hotheaded beast. The Nightmare seemed to get a kick out of resisting Snotlout's control, constantly dipping and swerving through the sky.

"As nice as this is…!" Snotlout started, suddenly cut off as his dragon pranked him again by suddenly diving for the sea. He screamed and tugged hard on the dragon's horns, eventually spurring the Nightmare to ascend back to the others, floating back into earshot. Dazed, Snotlout groaned and waited a few more seconds before continuing to speak, "As nice as this is—you still haven't told us what we're doing out here."

"I did tell you: we're going to save the tribe." Hiccup said.

"Yeah, and that's it!" Snotlout complained.

"Much as I hate to admit it, I have to agree with Snotlout." Fishlegs added. "Hiccup, what exactly _are_ we doing out here? Besides committing treason."

"Heh, who knew treason could be so awesome?" Tuffnut declared. Ruffnut bumped fists with her twin, agreeing.

Hiccup looked ahead, where the faintest hints of a thick fog were beginning to appear on the horizon. "We're heading to the dragons' nest. My dad is using Toothless to find the island, where he'll lead everyone on those ships into certain death. He thinks he can storm the nest and make the dragons leave, but he's wrong. The dragons have a queen that controls them, and she's the size of a mountain."

"Wait-wait-wait-wait." Snotlout butted in, "A dragon the size of a mountain? Yeah, right."

"Actually, it makes sense." Fishlegs replied, "This queen dragon could dominate the others and make those under it do what it tells them to. If it's really that big, it probably can't fly and get its own food. So, it has its food brought to it."

"Exactly. It controls the other dragons somehow and makes them raid our villages for food. Dragons themselves are generally harmless unless they're provoked." Hiccup explained.

"But if your dad knows about the queen, why would he sail for the nest to kill it?"

"He doesn't know. I tried to tell him, but he wouldn't listen. As soon as I told him that a dragon could find the island, he was off. If we don't get there in time, everyone we know is going to be slaughtered. There's no way they can fight this thing." Hiccup explained, "Which is why we need to get there, _fast."_

The others fell silent, contemplating the situation as wind howled in their ears. Even the other dragons calmed down, allowing themselves to be flown by the humans on their backs. In the distance, the fog started to grow, though they were still a long way off. Over the huge expanse of sea, Hiccup saw no ships. How had his father already entered Helheim's Gate? They'd only been a couple of hours behind them. The winds must've been incredibly good.

"How are you holding up?" Hiccup asked Astrid, quietly. The sun hung suspended in the western sky, late afternoon already upon them.

"I'm fine."

"I'm sorry I roped you into this. It's kind of my fault that you were thrown in jail."

Astrid glanced back at him, "Hiccup, you didn't get me thrown in jail. _I_ got myself thrown into jail. I'm not angry at you. I'm thankful for you. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. You showed me what dragons are really like. If I didn't believe in what you had to say, I wouldn't have tried to show the village what you showed me."

Hiccup smiled. "Thanks, Astrid."

"Although this isn't how I saw today going," Astrid conceded.

"Me neither. I'm not really sure how I saw today going, actually." Hiccup agreed. They fell silent for a few moments, "Have you thought up any names for her?" he asked next, gesturing to the dragon.

"It's crossed my mind." Astrid admitted, a small smile crossing her face, "Although whatever I decide on, it's going to be a lot better than _'Toothless'_."

"Toothless' name is perfect. He literally _has no teeth_ if he doesn't want to." Hiccup defended, laughing in spite of everything. Astrid snickered with him for a minute.

"I kind of like _Stormfly._" Astrid suggested. She shrugged and looked to Hiccup.

"Stormfly. I like that." Hiccup replied, "It suits her. She's a brave girl, just like you."

"Paying me compliments on the way to a battle that just might get us killed? That's new." Astrid said.

"What, isn't that how all the romance sagas start off? I've been lied to!" Hiccup said, thoroughly exaggerating and augmenting his voice with an absurdly haughty twang.

Astrid giggled and leaned down towards Stormfly's head, speaking soothingly to the Nadder, "What do you think, girl? Would you like me to call you Stormfly?"

"_Rawk!"_ the Nadder squawked in answer, flapping her wings in what appeared to be excitement.

"I think that's settled, then." Astrid said, sitting back up and looking ahead. Another half hour passed like lightning, and the fog of Helheim's Gate began to take up the majority of Astrid's field of vision. The size of the wall of fog made her feel small once again—in the daylight, it looked significantly larger.

"Almost there. You sure about this?" Astrid asked Hiccup, turning back so she could see him out of the corner of her eye.

Hiccup shook his head, "No, but it's not like we have any other choice." He raised his voice so the others could hear him, "Alright, get ready, everyone! We're going in! Let the dragons do the navigating, they'll find their way to the island."

As Hiccup spoke, something in the fog caught Astrid's eye, a dark shape that suddenly grew from within the haze. She made out the shapes of wings, and it took all of a few seconds for her to make the connection.

"Woah!" Astrid yelped, tugging on Stormfly's crown to command the dragon to stop. Right on cue, a Monstrous Nightmare burst out of the fog, roaring and narrowly avoiding crashing straight into the Nadder. The larger dragon didn't bother to attack like Astrid expected, merely dodging and continuing to fly away in a panic. The twins yelped in surprise as the Nightmare nearly crashed into them as well, pulling up and coming to a sudden stop.

"What the Hel was that?" Snotlout shouted, pulling his own Nightmare to a stop. A cluster of dragons suddenly burst from the fog, flying in all directions and bellowing fearfully as they flew away.

"It looks like they're fleeing from something. What do you think is the matter?" Fishlegs wondered aloud as more dragons spilled from the haze, most of them flying up and away as a group and never encountering the teens on dragonback.

Stormfly suddenly squirmed, squawking weakly and starting to flap away from the fog.

"Stormfly? What is it, girl?" Astrid asked, patting the Nadder's hide in an attempt to calm her.

The air was suddenly splintered by the loudest roar that Astrid had ever heard, a thunderclap of fury that rolled through the thick fog and onto the open sea. The other dragons murmured uncomfortably, suddenly very on edge. Astrid dropped her hands from her ears as the roar subsided, no less afraid as she turned back to look at Hiccup.

His emerald eyes pulsed with absolute fear. He met her eyes, and when he parted his lips to speak, his voice shook like a leaf in the wind.

"They found her."

* * *

Stoick kept his head on a swivel, eyeing every sea stack and feature in the fog as if he would somehow spot the dragons' nest if he looked around enough. The winds had been exceptionally favorable today, cutting their travel time to Helheim's Gate at an astounding rate. Stoick had taken that as a sign from the gods, a recognition that his destiny and ultimate victory were at hand. At last, he would have his revenge.

The fleet had delved into the fog of Helheim's Gate half an hour ago, and still they had found nothing as they sailed slowly through the treacherous waters, careful not to run aground. The Night Fury was unresponsive, green eyes fixed on the floor of the ship. So far, it was much of the same as it related to Stoick's ventures into this damned fog.

The rest of his people didn't seem all that thrilled with the turn of events, taking to whispering amongst themselves and hoping that he couldn't hear. But alas, he could.

"_Just like every other time. We come all the way here and have no idea where to go."_

"_Patience, Yakeye. We have the Night Fury this time."_

"_Fat lot of good tha's doing us, isn't it?"_

"_I've said it before, and I'll say it again. These ships are meant for sailing the open ocean, not stalking through shallows."_

"_It'll be a miracle if we don't run aground."_

Stoick sneered, and the clicking of a peg leg alerted him to Gobber's presence. He was thankful for that; finally, something to distract himself with. The blonde-headed blacksmith appeared in the corner of Stoick's eye, nervously palming the stone club fixed in the place of his prosthetic hand.

"Stoick," Gobber started, avoiding eye contact.

"Gobber."

"We… we haven't had a chance to talk since all of…" Gobber said, trailing off as he glanced behind him at the restrained Night Fury. The blacksmith found his words, _"that."_

"What is there to talk about?" Stoick asked, eyes still affixed up ahead at the fog.

"You know what I mean." Gobber said. Stoick snorted. "What're we doin' here, Stoick? What do you expect to find?"

"He _said_ that it would work," Stoick growled, referring to Hiccup.

"And look at what it's done to you. Yer doubting your own people. Putting a guard on Edna Hofferson like that while you take the whole village out to sea—sure, she might try to break Astrid out, but how many mothers wouldn't?" Gobber countered, "We should turn back, and hunker down for the winter. That way, we deal with Hiccup and Astrid," Stoick glared at him, "and we can try this again when the ice thaws. We'll still have the Night Fury. It's not goin' anywhere."

Stoick shook his head. "No, Gobber. You know I hear them. They doubt me. They rallied behind me after what Hiccup and Astrid did in the arena, but that's only lasted for so long. I barely convinced them to sail with me last time—if I give them three months of sitting at their hearths keeping their bodies warm and their bellies full, they may never want to leave again. They'll be more content to fight off raids until Ragnarök than to sail into this fog again."

Gobber sighed. Stoick had a point. The blacksmith had heard some of the whispering as well. "If we're going to do this, then we at least need to know if there's a plan."

"Find the nest and take it." Stoick snarled.

"Ah, of course. Send them running. The old Viking fallback, nice and simple. Ya know, I was thinking—"

But Stoick wasn't looking at Gobber anymore. He waved a heavy hand at the blacksmith, signaling for him to stop talking, "Shhh, shhh."

Gobber turned and spotted the Night Fury, eyes down and ears twitching frantically. The dragon was _hearing_ something. Stoick straightened his back and briskly walked towards the back of the boat. This must've been what Hiccup had been talking about.

_Hiccup._

No. Now was not the time for internal conflict. They were on a mission, and one mission only: to find the nest. And now that they had a surefire way to reach their goal, Stoick could not allow his mind to wander. He would deal with his _son_ when they returned to Berk victorious.

"Step aside." Stoick ordered the Viking at the back of the boat, placing his huge hand on the handle of the steering oar. Almost as if on cue, the Night Fury lifted its head, pointing its gaze to the right. Stoick steered the ship accordingly, and the fleet behind him steadily followed suit through the narrow channels.

Stoick briefly caught sight of Gobber looking up at a sea stack, where a ruined longship was hanging from the crags above, left behind as a casualty in some forgotten expedition. The Night Fury turned its head again, and Stoick successfully steered the boat the opposite way, finding that if he had kept his course, he would've rammed the ship into another sea stack. The dragon's instincts appeared to be holding true.

They sailed through the slim passages, passing sea stack after sea stack and penetrating miles of thick fog until finally the unexpected shape of a mountain peered through the fog. Stoick stood up straight, finding he didn't have time to gape before the ship ran aground onto the beach.

Stoick immediately left the steering oar, shuffling past his fellow men and women to get a good look at the island. A tall mountain that was possibly a volcano stood tall in the island's center, and there was a constant faint buzzing sound that Stoick could only guess was the activity of dragons in the area.

The chief quickly hopped overboard, landing on the rocky beach and gazing at the obsidian ground. The surrounding buzz instantly quieted, and Stoick knew. After lifetimes of searching, they'd found it.

"We're here." Stoick breathed, relieved and awestruck at the same time.

The call went up and the rest of the fleet quickly docked on the edge of the beach, and those that couldn't promptly lined up behind those that could. Each ship unloaded a horde of Vikings and all the equipment they could carry. Battlements were built, catapults were raised, and ranks were formed as the Vikings of Berk converged upon the island. One way or another, the war between Berk and dragon-kind would end today.

And yet, as the Vikings encroached on their home, not a single dragon surfaced.

"Where are the devils?" Spitelout growled, battle axe at the ready.

"They're hiding." Stoick surmised, "They won't come out until we make them."

The chief glanced at his advisors and friends, his closest confidants and most trusted warriors; Spitelout, Gobber, Phlegma the Fierce, Ingvar Hofferson, Hoark and Ack, and a few others. "We must be ready. When we crack this mountain open," Stoick said, "All Hel is going to break loose." Stoick glanced to Phlegma and Ingvar, "Ensure that everyone is ready and report back. We'll begin on my signal."

The two warriors nodded and shuffled off in opposite directions, scrambling to each of the battlements and checking the preparations. Soon enough, everything was in order and Stoick gave the signal. The men manning the catapults went into action and fired multiple boulders against the wall of the mountain, striking again and again and again until finally the rock shattered and the entrance to an apparent tunnel opened up on the ground.

Stoick boldly walked forward, brandishing his war hammer and keeping his shield in front of his torso. He fully expected a blast of fire to be sent his way as he ascended a ramp of wrecked rock to the tunnel's entrance, but none came. He heard the incessant buzzing again as he reached the dark entrance and knew that the beasts were there, waiting for him.

Stoick's blood boiled as his thoughts turned to everything the dragons had done to his home, and to him specifically. They'd hurt and killed many of his friends and those special to him, subjecting Gobber to life as an amputee as well as many others. They'd taken his beloved wife Valka from him when his son was just a babe, condemning the boy to a life without a mother.

They'd haunted his every waking moment in some way, shape, or form, pillaging his village and ending too many lives both with and without violence. Sometimes it was the claws and teeth and fire that took Berkian lives, and other times it was the famines that came from their invasions.

But when he finally came to _their_ doorstep for a change, all they did was hide.

Stoick wanted to see the cowering bastards before he killed them. He raised his huge hand to signal to the men manning the catapult, who promptly lit a boulder aflame and launched it. The boulder flew at a perfect angle, and Stoick felt its heat as it passed over his head and down the tunnel, illuminating the forms of _thousands_ of dragons watching and waiting.

From the deepest depths of Stoick's lungs came a battle cry greater than anything he'd ever mustered, and he stormed into the entrance of the tunnel, swinging his weapon wildly with no concern for what he hit. The dragons inside all panicked and flew in a great pack, fleeing through the only way out. Stoick swung blindly, feeling his hammer glance a handful of scaly bodies, but not once did they turn their claws and teeth or flames on him. They just kept flying, fleeing as quickly as they could and taking to the air.

The storm of dragons ended as quickly as it had come, with not an ounce of blazing fire or bloodshed as they all tucked and ran, flying out of sight into the fog.

"We've done it!" someone declared, and a raucous cheer stirred up in the Viking horde below. Stoick watched the dragons go, and a seed of confusion implanted itself in his mind.

What was it that Hiccup had said? Stoick had heard him, sure, but he wasn't interested in the boy's rambling at the time. He'd been certain it was just another one of the boy's lies. He'd been telling quite a few recently, anyway. Hiccup's words echoed deep in his head, tolling like a bell of doom.

_It's a dragon the size of a mountain._

_Dad, I promise you that you can't win this one!_

Stoick heard the shifting before he felt it, and he bellowed down at his people below. "No! This isn't over!"

Stoick whirled around on the tunnel and was immediately knocked a few steps back by a roar so loud, it put Thor's thunderstorms to shame. A freezing shiver trailed down Stoick's great spine, and the ground began to shake as the mountain cracked open before his very eyes.

The chief didn't need to be told twice to run. He galloped down the pass and the mountain at his back split apart with a deafening _crack._ Another terrifying roar rattled his eardrums, and Stoick could only imagine what devil was crawling free behind him.

"Get clear!" Stoick yelled, and the Vikings clustered together heeded his order with panic, scattering out of formation. Stoick spotted Gobber and ran up alongside the blacksmith, taking note of the way that the old Viking staggered back, his eyes peeled wide in shock.

"Beard of Thor! What is that!?"

Stoick finally turned around to look, and he nearly dropped his weapon in awe. Hiccup hadn't been lying. The beast emerging from the mountain was at least a hundred times the size of the largest dragon Stoick had ever seen, and it wasn't even done crawling out of its hole. Its head alone was enormous, dome-shaped and thick. Countless teeth and a huge crown of bony protrusions decorated the head, and the body was long and massive, a terrifying mix of fat and muscle. There was no doubt that it was the monarch of this nest.

The mountain's entrance crumbled as the monster emerged, and Stoick shivered as he finally understood his mistake.

_"Odin help us."_


	21. Ragnarök

**Thanks to everyone who's reviewing, and I hope y'all love this mega-chapter. The longest one of the story. It's predictable, but so was the movie. I think the new dialogue and altered events are worth it, and there's something special added in (read: Hiccstrid!)**

**So, let me know what you think in a review! Thanks again for reading!**

* * *

**_21\. Ragnarök_**

Vikings, especially those from Berk, were unparalleled in their stubbornness. There was never a problem they couldn't fix, no matter how large. And if they couldn't fix it, then they could sure beat the problem with a hammer until it fixed itself.

It turned out that a dragon the size of a mountain was not that type of problem.

Warriors of all ages and sizes ran for their lives, a disorderly mob wracked with incomparable fear. The monster at their backs roared again, furious that its turf had been intruded on and its subjects had been scattered.

"Catapults!" Stoick roared above the panic. He still had a hold on some of his men, and they had to do _something._ Catapults swung into action and launched huge boulders, but they may as well have been mere pebbles as they shattered against the massive beast's hide, hardly bothering it at all.

Most of the warriors saw that the catapults were doing nothing, and another wave of fear rippled through them. As his army collapsed before his eyes, Stoick tried and failed to regain control. For the first time in his life, he had no idea what to do.

"To the ships!" a panicked Viking screamed.

Stoick knew better. "No! No!"

He heard the hiss of gas an instant later, and a column of fire larger than any Stoick had ever seen flew over his head, effectively putting the fleet to the torch. He watched some of his fellow Berkians that had been manning the boats leap in the water, narrowly avoiding a fiery death. Many of the ships went up in flames, wooden frames crackling loudly as the fire indiscriminately ate them away.

"She's smart, that one." Gobber remarked, somehow finding a dark humor in their situation.

"Hiccup tried to warn me," Stoick lamented, "Gobber, how could I have been so foolish?"

Spitelout ran up next, chest rising and falling rapidly. "What do we do, Stoick?"

Stoick wracked his brain, deciding quickly. "Lead everyone to the far side of the island. Get out of sight, board whatever ships are left, and get out of here."

Spitelout nodded and yelled out orders, gathering most of the army. Stoick turned to look back at the beast, who was busy tearing apart a catapult with its enormous teeth.

"Gobber, go with the men." Stoick said, and he started to walk toward the dragon. He'd gotten them into this mess, so he had a duty to do what he could to get his people out.

"I think I'll stay, just in case you're thinking about doing something crazy." Gobber refused, hobbling after the Chief.

Oh, for the love of Odin, his friend was stubborn. "I won't have your blood on my hands, too, Gobber, so go! I can buy you some time if I give that thing someone to hunt."

Gobber snatched Stoick's meaty hand in his, squeezing. They were battle brothers, Stoick knew this, and there was nothing that would keep them apart in war. Gobber wasn't going anywhere.

"Then I can double that time."

Stoick stiffened, and then nodded, grateful above all else that he had a friend as devoted as Gobber. Stoick turned back to the monster and Gobber stepped up to his side, and they both stirred up a proud bellow from their lungs.

"Here!" Stoick thundered, waving his massive war hammer.

Gobber ran away from Stoick, in the opposite direction that the rest of their people were going. "Oh, no! _Here!"_ Gobber called. The monstrous dragon looked back and forth between them, two beady eyes shifting to examine each potential prey. The trick worked, and the beast struggled to decide which one of the measly Vikings it should go after.

"Come on! Fight me!" Gobber howled, waving his axe-attachment like a madman.

"No, me!" Stoick added, keeping the dragon distracted.

Something seemed to click, and the beast decided to take them both out, raising its huge head into the air and breathing in. Gas filtered in from the dragon's throat, a death sentence for Stoick and Gobber alike.

Stoick paled and hoped that his people were far enough away to escape.

A big, bright explosion suddenly erupted on the back of the monster's head, silencing its flame and knocking the beast around. It stumbled on its enormous feet, its vision surely blurred from the concussive blast. Stunned, Stoick looked up at the gray clouds, and four dragons swooped into view.

What was most peculiar about it, though, were the five teens on the dragons' backs. A Nadder flew at the front of the pack, directed by none other than Astrid and Hiccup.

Stoick was at a loss for words. It was a day of firsts, apparently.

Gobber chortled as he stepped up to Stoick's side, throwing a brawny hand on the Chief's armored shoulder. "Every bit the boar-headed stubborn Viking you ever were!"

Stoick nodded slowly, still stunned. "I don't… how did they even get out?"

"My guess is one of them kids busted 'em out. Thank the gods in Asgard for their complete disregard for authority."

* * *

As thousands of dragons frantically flew away to escape the impending massacre, four others charged through the fog. The dragons navigated the haze seamlessly, weaving through a twisting maze of sea stacks and cliffs to the heart of Helheim's Gate. Another terrible roar split the air, and the dragons expressed their discomfort with nervous warbles, but nevertheless kept on going. Afraid as they may have been, they had a job to do.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon…" Hiccup murmured even as Stormfly zoomed ahead of the pack, "I just hope we're not too late."

Deep within the fog, a bright orange glare sprouted into view, followed by a brutal rush of hot air.

"That's a _lot_ of fire..." Fishlegs warned.

The dragons flocked sideways and up as one, surging higher above the shallow sea below, and finally they broke through the clouds of fog. The scene below was about as good as they could've expected. Planted on the center of the beach was the queen in all her fearsome glory, absolutely massive and yet somehow smaller than Hiccup and Astrid would've expected from their encounter the night before, though no less terrifying.

On the banks of the island, their huge fleet of ships were in the process of burning to a crisp, and hordes of Vikings scattered as one to the right to flee the living nightmare that stood before them. Far away from their fellow tribesmen, Hiccup squinted and spotted Gobber and his dad on the ground, shouting at the queen to keep her attention as the others ran.

"Okay, gang, everyone ready?"

"What exactly are we doing?" Fishlegs squeaked.

"Putting an end to this." Hiccup replied, eyes fixed on the queen.

The teens flew their new dragons up and then down, following Astrid and Stormfly to zoom towards the queen. The monster never saw them coming, eyes fixed on the two Vikings at her feet.

"Now!" Hiccup shouted, and the teens all commanded their dragons to fire. The bursts of flame clustered together and connected with the back of the queen's head, exploding violently and disorienting the monstrous dragon.

The group flew over the dazed beast, their cover blown. The panicked activity below ground to a halt as hundreds of eyes stared up in awe at the teens riding on dragons.

Tuffnut whooped, howling with delight. "Yeah! Check us out! Treasonous kids!"

Astrid led the group forward and turned, prompting the others to follow in a tight formation. The queen shook its massive head, trying to recover. "Fishlegs, what are we looking at?" Hiccup called, and the husky boy wasted no time.

"Let's see… okay, she's got a heavily armored head and tail, probably for bashing and crushing—steer clear of both! From what I can tell: small eyes and large nostrils, which means she can't see very well and relies on hearing and smell. I see wings, but they don't look too good. My guess is this dragon hasn't flown in a long time." Fishlegs explained.

Hiccup nodded, "Okay. Here's how we'll do this: 'Legs, 'Lout, see if you can find its blind spot. Make some noise and keep it confused. Ruff, Tuff, find out if it has a shot limit. If we can, we want it to use up all of its fire, so _make it mad."_

Ruffnut beamed, "That's my specialty!"

Tuffnut scoffed, "How? Everyone knows that I'm more irritating, see?" To prove his point, Tuffnut turned upside down and stuck out his tongue, making annoying noises along with it.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Just please do what I told you. I need you guys to buy us time to find Toothless, and then we'll go from there. Everyone clear?"

The others nodded fiercely, even Tuffnut. It was clear that this was no time for joking. _This_ was their final test, and failure meant death.

"Good. Go!" Hiccup ordered, and three dragons broke from the formation to get to their tasks. Hiccup turned to Astrid, shaking as he spoke, "Okay, Astrid, let's find Toothless."

Astrid directed the Nadder toward the burning ships, eyes scanning for one black dragon. Hungry flames ravaged the wooden fleet, making it horribly hot as Stormfly swooped between the doomed vessels.

"See anything?" Astrid asked. She knew Hiccup was frantically looking while she put most of her focus on steering Stormfly. The mast of a nearby ship suddenly exploded, sending a rush of heat and sparks into Stormfly's path. Astrid jerked on the Nadder's crown, successfully guiding her out of the way. "Sorry!" Astrid yelped.

"It's fine. Nice work." Hiccup said quickly. A smile slipped onto Astrid's face. She steered Stormfly around to do another sweep of the ships when an unmistakable roar split the air. Hiccup gasped and pointed.

"There, one of the ships up front! See him?"

Astrid squinted and indeed spotted a black shape immobilized by a series of restraints. _Toothless._ The Night Fury would be fine for now, but eventually the burning ships would start to sink.

"I see him. Stormfly, go!" Astrid ordered, spurring the Nadder to the head of the fleet. They quickly lowered, flying in front of the ship so that Toothless could see them. The Night Fury warbled worriedly, a mix of emotions flushing across its scaly, black face.

Hiccup leaped down from Stormfly's back, landing cleanly on the deck and whirling around to look at Astrid. "Go help the others, I'll be right behind you!" Astrid nodded and tugged on Stormfly, directing the Nadder towards the fight. Hiccup caught the briefest glance of the twins flying dangerously close to the queen, and the massive dragon split the sky with a column of fire that ultimately missed the twins and Zippleback.

"Okay, bud," Hiccup said, shaking as he turned back to Toothless and stepped up to examine the restraints, "Let's get you out of here."

* * *

Astrid flew as fast as she could to get into the battle. The queen sent a huge gust of fire into the air, and she heard Ruffnut's shrill laugh as she got close.

"Nice try, butt elf, but you missed!"

Fishlegs and Snotlout were stationed on either side of the massive dragon's head, beating their weapons against their shields liberally. The beast shook its head, irritated, and Astrid spotted two additional eyes crack open on Fishlegs' side.

"Um, this thing doesn't have a blind spot!" Fishlegs cried.

Snotlout huffed in disgust, "Ugh, seriously? How many eyes do you need, fatty?" Astrid guessed that the same had happened to Snotlout.

No blind spot. Okay, this wasn't a problem. Everything was fine.

"Look alive, boys! Help has arrived!" Astrid hollered, "Stormfly, let's show her what life without eyes is like!"

Stormfly squawked and unleashed a blast of white-hot fire at the right side of the queen's head. The Nadder was lethally accurate, dousing two of the three eyeballs in searing liquid fire. The queen dragon instantly recoiled and released an ear-splitting roar of agony.

"Alright, we're doing it!" Snotlout hollered, continuing to bash his shield with his hammer. Astrid rolled her eyes and flew beside Fishlegs, helping the husky boy fly out of the queen's reach.

"Where's Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked, keeping a wary eye on the queen. He hit his shield with his hammer a few more times, and the Gronckle fidgeted in midair.

"Busting Toothless out. Just a couple more minutes." Astrid answered, "Okay, the noise doesn't seem to be working all that much. Let's bust out the rest of those eyes and try doing some damage to her nose."

Snotlout called out to them from the other side of the queen's head, looking down at his dragon with concern. The Nightmare was shaking violently, and Snotlout was struggling to hold on.

"Uh, guys? Something's wrong!"

Astrid sucked in a breath. Vikings had been using the 'make noise, and lots of it' tactic for generations while fighting dragons. It still seemed to work to a degree on the queen, but it was also messing with the dragons they were riding.

Astrid's body seized as the Monstrous Nightmare threw Snotlout from its back. Snotlout flew, shouting in terror as he fell onto the top of the queen's skull with only his hammer and his dragon flew away in panic.

Snotlout landed on the queen's head and looked around, a bright idea coming to him. He promptly grabbed his hammer and leaned down, swinging the weapon into one of the beast's spare eyes.

Snotlout laughed, "Yeah! I can't miss! What's wrong, buddy? Got something in your eye?" he taunted before bashing the damaged eye twice more for good measure.

It was safe to say that the queen did not appreciate that, jerking its head up and bellowing in agony.

"Snotlout, look out!" Fishlegs cried, and the queen suddenly lurched to the side. The queen's sideways charge inconveniently collided with the Gronckle, ejecting Fishlegs from his seat on its back and knocking the small, burly dragon from the air.

"Uh, oh! Stormfly, catch him!" Astrid yelled. Stormfly locked its gaze on Fishlegs, diving down after the flailing boy as he fell towards certain death. Stormfly extended her legs as they closed in, successfully snatching Fishlegs' feet and flying low to the ground.

"I'm okay!" Fishlegs declared, losing his helmet as he dangled upside-down from the Nadder's grip. He squealed, hollering into the wind this time as if he couldn't believe it, _"I'm okay!"_

Stormfly set the boy safely down on the ground and Astrid surged up beside him, "Get to the others and stay out of danger!" she ordered and immediately flew off, leaving Fishlegs in a gust of wind.

Stormfly rocketed through the sky and Astrid sidled up beside Snotlout, who was dutifully bashing the Hel out of the queen dragon's eyes again. One furious eye was pointed backwards, trying to spot the teenager stamping out its other eyes, while the two supplementary eyes beside it were ruptured and discolored from damage.

"Yeah, you're the Viking!" Astrid cheered. Snotlout grinned. "Step back, we're gonna burn those out for good!"

Snotlout scampered back, concerned, and Stormfly spewed blinding fire onto the two damaged eyes, even managing to spill some of the liquid blaze onto the queen's main eye. Snotlout shielded his eyes from the glare, mouth hanging open in amazement at the brilliant sparks of fire.

The queen herself did not approve. She stumbled towards the water, enormous feet landing at awkward angles as the monstrous dragon tried to recover. Snotlout rocked back and forth with the erratic movements, losing his footing.

"Snotlout!" Astrid called, moving to dive in to rescue him. The queen's huge tail came swinging in, and Astrid had to jerk Stormfly out of the way to avoid being clobbered. Snotlout fell off the side of the queen's head, luckily catching himself on one of the huge, bony frills jutting out of the queen's head.

Astrid leaned forward to send Stormfly back in to help, only to look to her left for Hiccup. He was taking his sweet time rescuing Toothless, and things were quickly going south.

The queen continued its violent turn, and its huge tail slashed clean through a cluster of ships, severing their masts with ease. Astrid spotted Hiccup jump back, narrowly avoiding being crushed by the mast of the ship he and Toothless were on.

The queen then took a blurred step forward, its foot falling onto the ship itself and into the water. The hull splintered automatically, and the remainder of the ship instantly listed onto its side, overturning and launching Hiccup and Toothless overboard and into the sea, the Night Fury still hopelessly trapped in its restraints with no way to breathe.

Astrid's entire body shook as sheer panic parted her lips. _"Hiccup!"_

* * *

Hiccup tugged on the muzzle holding Toothless' mouth shut, and the Night Fury immediately warbled worriedly. "I know, buddy, I know. Hang tight, we're gonna get you out of here." He grabbed a stray metal rod and drove it into one of the restraints locking Toothless' feet down. The structure was remarkably sturdy, and Hiccup put all of his might into pulling, trying desperately to rip the restraint apart.

He should've asked Astrid to stay behind and help him. How could he have been so stupid? Maybe he didn't trust the others to hold their own without her leadership. That wasn't an outlandish thing to think.

What _was _outlandish was that he thought he'd be able to break Toothless out of these manacles all on his own. If he'd gotten Astrid to help, they'd already be up in the air.

"I'm so sorry, Toothless. I'm so sorry I let them do this to you." Hiccup rambled, forcing himself to stop hyperventilating as he returned to work. Smoke scorched his throat as he breathed it in, impossible to avoid as the ship burned to cinders around him. After a solid minute of tugging, the restraint broke.

"One down, way too many to go." Hiccup muttered. Toothless looked up at the battle raging on the beach and warbled with fear. "I know, bud. They're going to keep her busy and we'll join them, just hang tight, alright?"

If only he'd known that that was not at all what was happening.

He realized that about five seconds later when the queen's tail tore clean through the masts of a dozen ships, including the one he was on. Hiccup's head snapped up and he spotted the burning mast plummeting toward him, leaping out of the way and grimacing as he heard the wooden mast crash onto the deck.

"Okay—we're okay, bud, I promise, we're…" Hiccup started. He stepped over the severed mast and scrambled back to Toothless, returning to work on his restraints. The Night Fury's green eyes widened in terror and the queen stepped on the ship. With a sickening creak, the deck rolled over under the queen's enormous foot, sending Hiccup and Toothless sliding straight towards the water.

"No, no, no!" Hiccup yelled as he slid. He scrabbled for some kind of handhold, but found none and plummeted into the freezing sea. He crashed under the water just after Toothless, easily spotting the black dragon sinking fast, still trapped in his restraints.

Hiccup bit back a curse and swam desperately after his dragon. His ears pounded as the air pressure tightened around him, squeezing his lungs as they begged for air that Hiccup couldn't give them.

He had to save him. _He had to._

Hiccup reached Toothless at the bottom of the shallow sea, wrapping his small hands around the thick neck restraint, pulling even as he realized how terribly hopeless it was.

Toothless was going to die.

Hiccup tugged, the cold water forcing his oxygen reserve out of his body twice as fast. Toothless thrashed, the sheer desperation of their situation suddenly dawning on the black dragon. Hiccup pulled, and pulled, and pulled some more, and yet nothing budged.

His tugging suddenly grew weak as he ran out of air, rapidly descending into unconsciousness.

The word formed on Hiccup's lips, silent as he spoke into the water with the last of his breath.

"_Toothless."_

And then something dragged him away from his best friend.

* * *

It felt like only a few seconds, and yet it also felt like an eternity. Either way, Hiccup tasted air and immediately sucked in a huge gulp. A spray of salt kicked up and invaded his nose, but he knew he was breathing fresh, true air. In another instant Hiccup was slammed against a rocky beach and water that had seeped into his lungs immediately surged out, flooding his throat as he seized upward and coughed it all up.

His vision cleared and gave him a half-second to see a muscular, red-headed shape go diving into the sea. "Dad?" Hiccup slurred. The shape disappeared under the surface of the water, leaving only a ripple in its place.

A half-minute later, a different shape launched out of the water, carrying Stoick to the shore. Toothless dropped Stoick safely onto the ground and flapped onto a nearby rock. The Night Fury shook the last of the seawater from his hide and then looked back at Hiccup, releasing a beckoning roar and flicking his head in the direction of the queen.

"You got it, bud." Hiccup said. An awestruck shiver ran down his spine and he ran to his friend. He vaulted into Toothless' thankfully-intact saddle, attaching the harness to the loop on his belt and preparing to fly.

"Hiccup!" Stoick bellowed, and Hiccup looked back. A spike of fear stabbed at him, but he softened when he saw Stoick's face. There was no malice in the chief's face, no hate or disgust for the dragon below him. Stoick snatched Hiccup's small arm with his enormous hand, gently holding his son.

"I'm sorry. I should've listened to you. I'm sorry for what I said, what I did. I'm sorry… f-for everything." Stoick said. There were too many things that he had to apologize for, too many wrongs he'd done his son, when he could've seen everything that Hiccup was and was trying to be.

He finally understood.

"Yeah, me too." Hiccup said, "Thank you, Dad… thank you for saving Toothless."

Stoick allowed a smile to slip to his face, and he chanced a look at the enormous queen further inland. Two dragons, a Nadder and a Zippleback, relentlessly circled the queen and the monstrous dragon split the sky with a beam of fire, missing the small dragons it aimed at. Hiccup flinched and looked back, catching a glimpse of the fire flying into the horizon.

"You don't have to go up there. We can drive her away and escape. We'd come back with every ally we have and come in with a plan." Stoick said, even though he knew that Hiccup would go up there—that Hiccup _did_ have to.

Hiccup shook his head. "The Viking Way isn't gonna win this one, Dad."

Stoick nodded, knowing that his son was right. "I know. I just wish that it wasn't so dangerous. I wish that I could help."

"You have," Hiccup said, patting Toothless' head. "Besides, we're Vikings," Hiccup added, shrugging and allowing the slightest smile to creep on his face as he quoted his father, "It's an occupational hazard."

Stoick snickered and looked at his feet. He wasn't sure that he could be any prouder of Hiccup than he was right now. One day, he would make a fantastic chief.

Stoick's heart swelled as he met Hiccup's eyes again, and he placed his hand on Hiccup's, covering up the boy's small hand. His next words were indisputably truer than anything Stoick had ever said.

"I'm proud to call you my son."

Hiccup stiffened. He'd heard the phrase before recently, heard his dad tell him that he was proud, but this was the first time that it felt _true._ This was the first time that Stoick knew the _truth_ and was still _proud._

And that made all the difference.

"Thanks, Dad." Hiccup said, and he pulled his arm free from Stoick's grip, "C'mon, bud!"

Toothless launched into the air, leaving the shrinking shape of Stoick the Vast behind on the ground.

* * *

Astrid heard the whistling wind as the Night Fury climbed into the air, and she'd never felt more relieved than she did in that moment.

"He's up!" she shouted, grinning from ear to ear. The twins swooped in beside her and Toothless took off away from the island, flying out to sea and away from the battle.

"Uh, but like, where's he going?" Ruffnut drawled.

"You'll see. Get Snotlout out of there, quick!" Astrid ordered. Toothless was _fast,_ which meant they only had a few seconds to evacuate Snotlout. The twins obeyed and flew straight at the queen. Snotlout saw them coming and ran, bounding onto the queen's snout and leaping, managing to catch himself on the Zippleback's body.

"_Wow! I can't believe that worked!"_ he yelped, and the twins flew off to safety.

Astrid flew another circle around the queen, admiring her handiwork. Four of the queen's six eyes were practically melting before her eyes, oozing some bodily liquid mixed with the residue of Stormfly's magnesium fire. One of her two main eyes was also damaged, a sickening red rash of irritation discoloring the pale blue of its eye. The enormous dragon seemed to recover from her long daze as Astrid flew around to its front, sneering furiously as it recognized the Nadder even in its impaired vision.

The queen opened her gigantic mouth, inhaling all of the air she could muster and effectively trapping Astrid and Stormfly in a vacuum. Stormfly flapped her wings violently in an attempt to escape, but there was simply no air around them, and the queen's titanic inhale began dragging them in. Astrid chanced a look back at the queen's enormous teeth, shivering at the sight.

And then the sky began to scream.

"Here they come, girl! Brace yourself!" Astrid said, laying down across the Nadder's back. The queen continued to try and suck them in, ignoring the scream of the approaching Night Fury.

The blast of plasma cut through the air and exploded against the side of the queen's huge face, knocking its great head to the side. Astrid and Stormfly fell, but the dragon flapped her wings and thrusted up as air surrounded her again. A black shape whooshed past them, a sharp whistle the only indication that they'd ever been there to begin with.

Stormfly flapped her wings some more and ascended as Toothless came back around, slowing as Stormfly approached. Astrid beamed, a sigh of relief escaping her as Hiccup came into view.

"I've never been happier to see you than I am right now." Astrid breathed.

"Sorry for the holdup." Hiccup quipped, "Where're the others?"

"Out of commission. We've done some damage, but she's still going strong." Astrid answered, chancing a look back at the angry queen. The huge dragon was recovering from her daze, a low rumble shaking the tense air.

"Then let's finish the job." Hiccup decided. He laid down against Toothless' back and the Night Fury rushed downward. Astrid directed Stormfly after them, acting as a reliable second line. Toothless screamed downward and loosed a bolt of plasma right as the queen looked at them, blasting her right in her enormous nose. Once again, the queen snarled and staggered back, and Astrid swooped in to paint the beast's face in liquid magnesium fire.

The two dragons swung into the sky and Astrid and Stormfly caught up. She took another glance at the infuriated queen. "She's not gonna go down like that. We're gonna have to figure something else out."

"I know. I think I have an idea." Hiccup said.

"Mind letting me in on it?"

"Dragons aren't fireproof on the inside. If we can get our flame inside her, it might do the job for us." Hiccup said, "But it's going to be hard to bait her into that. We may have to come back and fight another day."

"I'd prefer to avoid that, if we can."

"Me too."

The queen recovered and looked to the side, suddenly spotting the horde of Vikings hiding out away from the battle. A low growl penetrated her colossal throat.

"Uh-oh." Astrid said.

"Time's up. Let's see if this works."

Hiccup and Toothless dove down, once again closely followed by Astrid and Stormfly. They flew in front of the queen's face, once again drawing her attention.

"Hey, ugly! Forget about us?" Hiccup taunted. The huge dragon snarled and followed after them now, summoning another massive blast of fire. Toothless and Stormfly scattered, avoiding the blaze with ease.

Toothless and Stormfly flew over the Viking horde on the ground, where the other three dragons from Berk's arena were patiently waiting with their riders. Toothless looked down and snarled a sharp cry down below. Without question, the Nightmare, Zippleback, and Gronckle took to the air, rejoining the battle.

"Getting us some help, bud? Smart." Hiccup said. Toothless smacked his lips, accepting the praise. Astrid flew in beside them.

They flew as one in another circle around the queen. The huge dragon glowered at the others now following Toothless and Stormfly and focused, emotionless eyes narrowing into thin slits.

"What's she doing?" Astrid called over the wind.

Toothless snarled and barked, and the three dragons followed.

"I think they're battling for control! The queen controls them and makes them raid… maybe she can control them in other ways, too!" Hiccup wondered out loud. The queen bellowed, quickly getting angrier.

"If that's what she's trying to do, it isn't working." Astrid answered.

Toothless roared and the other three dragons fired. Flaming gas, liquid fire, and a sphere of molten rock rained down on the queen's head, exploding in a concussive blast. The queen growled and thrashed, swinging her armored head wildly.

"Get her, girl!" Astrid called. Stormfly spat a bolt of magnesium fire right into the queen's huge nostril, filling it with fire and disorienting the massive dragon. The queen _glared_ at the Nadder as they passed overhead, her black pupils thinner than the blade of a knife.

Stormfly shook her head pitifully, squawking as the queen tried to exert a mental hold over her.

"Stormfly?"

"_Rawk!"_ Stormfly cawed, her flight slowing and becoming wilder and less orderly.

Astrid threw her hand onto Stormfly's cheek, gently scratching her scales and the soft skin around her neck. "Stormfly, you can fight her! C'mon, girl, don't leave me!" Astrid urged. Her words broke through to the Nadder, the bond between girl and dragon stronger than the dragon's fear of her queen.

Astrid looked ahead and froze. The queen had slowed Stormfly's flight as they flew above her, so all of Stormfly's speed was lost, and the queen's armored tail was now hurtling toward them.

"Stormfly!" Astrid cried, and the Nadder flapped her wings in a frantic attempt to avoid the incoming tail. The Nadder wasn't fast enough, unable to build enough speed to dodge, so she raised her wing to shield Astrid's body.

Stormfly and Astrid were swatted out of the air with a sickening _crunch_, the Nadder's left wing crushed by the queen's tail. They hurtled to the ground at an angle, Astrid holding on for dear life as the ground rushed up to meet her.

"Hiccup!"

"Astrid!" Hiccup yelled and swooped in, flying Toothless as fast as he could. The Night Fury let out a panicked roar and stuck out his legs, claws extended and grabbing Astrid just in time. They pulled Astrid from Stormfly's back, and Toothless extended his wings to brake as Stormfly landed with a painful _thud _on the rocks.

"Stormfly!" Astrid cried. Toothless descended, letting Astrid drop to the ground first before landing at Hiccup's direction. The Night Fury sent up a short roar to their three dragon allies, and the Nightmare, Zippleback, and Gronckle accordingly started blasting the queen with fire to keep her distracted. The angry queen roared and snapped at all three dragons, but they kept out of her reach and continued to defiantly douse her with their flames.

Astrid fell to her knees at Stormfly's side, eyeing her damaged wing with horror as Hiccup swung off of Toothless' saddle.

"Oh, Stormfly! Girl, I'm so sorry!" Astrid whimpered, almost delirious as she hugged the dragon. "This is all my fault."

Stormfly squawked, resting her head on the black beach and cooing with relief. Her human was safe, and that was what counted. Astrid looked up at the queen and her features twisted with rage.

"We have to get back up there. We have to kill her." Astrid said, determined. Her blue eyes pulsed with fury, and she moved toward Toothless.

Hiccup cut her off, standing between her and his dragon. "No, Astrid, you've done more than enough. You need to get out of here."

Astrid whirled on him, angry at the mere suggestion. "What? No! That thing could've killed Stormfly!"

"I know that, and you're no use to her up in the air!" Hiccup snapped. He placed his hands on her shoulders, close enough to her that he could feel her panicked breath on his lips. "Think, Astrid, Stormfly needs help, and she needs to get to safety. She needs _you._ We'll handle the queen."

Astrid stammered, "B-b-but, but…"

Hiccup surged forward, not really sure what he was thinking (he probably _wasn't_ thinking, actually) but going ahead with it anyway. He tilted his head and caught Astrid's lips on his, and her protests instantly went silent as she realized what was happening. Instinctively, her hand reached up to cup his cheek.

The feeling was incredible, sending an electrifying tingle rippling down her body. She kissed back, laying all of her secrets bare in that moment and not caring at all as she focused on the tender softness of his lips. Even as the battle of a lifetime raged nearby, her entire world shrank down to him, and only him.

He pulled away _way_ too soon, and Astrid was on her toes for an instant as the departure of his lips tugged her towards him. He smiled in that sheepish, unabashedly _Hiccup_ way and gently grabbed for her hand, warm as ever.

"If anything happened to you, milady… I would never forgive myself. I need you to get Stormfly to safety, for her sake and for yours." Hiccup whispered. He chuckled as he looked down at their joined hands and met her eyes once more, his own green irises twinkling. He'd actually kissed Astrid Hofferson. "I can't even begin to explain to you how much your support has meant to me. You've been with me every step of the way when it was the last thing that you needed to do. You believed in me when no one else would. Let me end this, please."

Astrid nodded, understanding. She parted her lips to speak, voice soft and suddenly hoarse, as if she were in sheer awe of him.

"_Go."_

Hiccup stepped away from her, taking as long as he was able to before carefully separating their hands. He climbed onto Toothless and slid his feet into the stirrups, meeting her eyes just one more time. "I will be coming back."

The boy with the dragon took off, leaving her behind.

A new voice hollered at her from across the beach, drawing her attention. "Astrid!" Astrid squinted and saw a group of three Vikings sprinting for her and Stormfly. The Nadder bristled, worried as she saw the weapons at the warriors' sides. Astrid, too, grew defensive.

She softened when she recognized one of the Vikings as her father. Ingvar Hofferson raced to her at the front of the group, and Astrid rushed to meet him as well. Her father latched his arms around her as they met, holding her tight.

"Astrid, my darling. I'm sorry that I let them throw you in jail. I tried to stop it, but before I knew it—" Ingvar explained.

"It's okay, Dad." Astrid interrupted. For a moment, she squeezed him harder than he was squeezing her, her adrenaline-addled brain not entirely sure yet if he was indeed real. "You're not mad at me?"

"For a moment this morning, I was. Then, I was sad, because I feared you'd lost your way and would suffer because of it. But now, seeing what you did up there… I'm proud. And I'm convinced."

Astrid smiled, wistful. She knew what he meant. Stormfly squawked behind her, injured and unprotected and eyeing Ingvar's companions with suspicion. The Nadder held her broken wing close at her side as she laid on the ground.

"Dad, Stormfly's hurt." Astrid half-panicked, naturally expecting her father to resist.

But Ingvar didn't. He nodded, resolute, and looked to his two friends. "Well, are you just going to stand there? You heard my daughter; her dragon needs our help!"

* * *

The air whistled as Toothless righted himself, circling high above the queen. The dragons Toothless had enlisted used up the last of their shots, having painted their former queen in searing flames that still stubbornly burned around her hide.

"Alright, bud, it's up to us now, you got it?" Hiccup called. Below them, the enormous queen snarled, pointing one evil eye at Hiccup and Toothless as they approached. A vile ooze seeped from the two supplementary eyes on either side of its head, a mix of fire and blood irritating them and forming a ring of ruptured, burnt skin around the main eyes. One of her nostrils had also been torched by Stormfly, and the queen's head was littered with scrapes of all shapes and sizes.

"Looks like they did a number on her," Hiccup commented, and the queen turned toward them. Hiccup and Toothless dove and the queen responded by snapping at them, crushing empty air between her huge teeth as she missed and Toothless flew underneath her gargantuan body.

"C'mon, is that the best you can do?" Hiccup taunted, "You want our friends, you're gonna have to go through us!" He changed the position of Toothless' tailfin and they picked up speed, ascending in a repeat of the loop they'd done to start off their attack. Hiccup looked behind him at the furious queen, catching sight of the ancient, camouflaged wings on the beast's back.

"Fishlegs said that thing has wings… let's see if she can use 'em!" Hiccup urged. Toothless looped around, flying at incredible speed to return to the island. A bolt of plasma built up in the back of Toothless' throat, flying out on Hiccup's command and exploding against the side of the queen's body with colossal force. The huge dragon fell over from the force of the blast, making the very island shake as her incalculable weight crashed down on the rocky beach.

"Nice shot, Toothless, let's…" Hiccup started, but he was cut off by a furious, agonized wail from the queen. The enormous dragon finally unfolded its wings, revealing ancient, tattered extensions and crawling to its demonic feet.

"C'mon, too slow!" Hiccup shouted, guiding Toothless in and roaring a challenge at the queen. The massive dragon roared back and beat her enormous wings, somehow lifting off into the air.

The queen quickly proved that she was capable of flying quite fast for her size. Hiccup steered Toothless away from the island, goading the queen to follow. She unleashed another column of orange fire at them, and Toothless effortlessly dodged.

"Okay, that might not have been the best choice of words back there." Hiccup lamented. Toothless groaned, slightly annoyed at his human. "Yeah, yeah, you can chastise me later!" Hiccup complained. He looked back at the queen behind them, watching as the beast somehow made ground on them.

"Well, she can fly."

Hiccup put his focus up ahead and guided Toothless through the air, constantly feeling the terrifying heat of the queen dragon on their heels. A blood-curdling roar shook his very bones, but he refused to look back, only listening for the hiss of gas that indicated incoming fire.

As Toothless weaved amongst the maze of sea stacks, the queen merely ducked her huge head and crashed into them, shattering the pillars of rock where they stood. The process repeated and repeated, the queen chasing after the Night Fury and the Viking on its back. Hiccup finally glanced back, eyeing the ridiculously large wings on the beast that was relentlessly dogging them. Just one of the wings had to be at least twenty times Toothless' entire wingspan, possibly even more.

Hiccup tried not to think of what it would be like to be raided by this dragon instead of the lackeys it dominated in the nest. Berk wouldn't even exist anymore. _Vikings_ wouldn't even exist anymore.

Nope. Now was not the time for those thoughts.

They reached the far side of the island, where the horde that was Berk's finest (well, really the vast majority of Berk. Stoick hadn't segregated this journey by battlefield prowess. At all.) had gathered in what was likely the 'safest' place on the godsforsaken rock that they now stood on. A few measly ships remained undamaged, half-full of Vikings, and he heard cheers from the beach as he and Toothless flew by, and then boos as the queen decimated yet another sea stack in her furious charge after them.

The irony of the village screwup being the one to find the nest and lead the battle against the queen of the dragons was almost too great for Hiccup to ignore. The _way_ that he was fighting that same battle made it even better_._ He wanted to laugh. Unfortunately, he had more pressing matters to think about.

He had to think of a new strategy. Now that the queen was flying after them, their one advantage was shot. Hiccup glanced up, noting the dark storm clouds overhead.

The idea clicked, and Hiccup leaned down to speak so that Toothless could hear him clearly. "Okay, Toothless, see the clouds? Time to fight this thing on our terms!"

Hiccup cranked the tailfin into a new position and Toothless climbed, dragging the queen after them to the storm clouds above.

Stoick watched with concealed terror as Hiccup flew past them on the Night Fury. The colossal dragon queen flew after them, somehow keeping up as she shattered sea stack after sea stack in her way, never losing ground.

The chief chanced a look down at the teenagers that made up the dragon training class standing in front of him. Each of them was watching intently, all throwing their arms up and cheering as Hiccup flew by. All except for one.

Astrid stood on her knees over the Nadder she'd been flying, doing what she could as a couple of burly Vikings bandaged up the dragon's wing and built a makeshift splint. They'd all seen the queen dragon's tail smash against the girl and the Nadder in midair, surely crushing its wing. Ingvar had gone running after she'd crash-landed, and with the aid of two others, had brought the Nadder to safety so they could work on her wing.

With her dragon taken care of, Astrid looked up as Toothless flew overhead with what Stoick could only assume was the same abject fear that gripped at his heart right now. She probably wanted desperately to get out there on the back of a dragon and fight by his side, and yet she knew she couldn't. Her dragon was wounded, and this was Hiccup's fight.

Speaking of dragons, Stoick eyed the three other reptiles waiting patiently nearby. No one dared attack them, for the beasts had very much saved their lives, following Hiccup and the Night Fury into battle to keep the queen occupied until they'd used up their shots.

Stoick suspected that if they survived this, some changes would be in order on Berk. He had a lot to atone for.

Stoick just hoped that Hiccup knew what he was doing and would win this fight. Because if he didn't, every man and woman standing around him now would personally punch a one-way ticket to Valhalla.

Toothless surged through the clouds, tinting Hiccup's field of vision with a dark, stormy gray. The light level plummeted and the Night Fury kept going, blending into the dark clouds with ease. There was a huge whooshing of air and Hiccup held his breath, feeling but not seeing as the queen thundered up into the cloudy realm around them.

The queen rumbled with a guttural growl, sniffing furiously as she tried to track Toothless. A grunt of pain shook the beast as the intake of air stung her burnt nostril. Droplets of molten fire and bodily goop dribbled from either side of her enormous head, very clearly bothering the gargantuan monster.

Hiccup silently guided Toothless in, and the sky screamed as the Night Fury reached striking speed. Toothless unleashed a powerful bolt of plasma, rocking the queen's entire body as the blast connected with her head. The dark environment lit up with lightning, and a rumble of thunder growled from the darkness as a storm began quickly rolling in.

"We'll have to be quick, bud." Hiccup whispered, feeling the change in the air.

Toothless grunted in agreement and followed Hiccup's gentle commands, zooming in and out and each time landing a perfect strike on the queen.

The queen roared furiously after the third blast, opening her enormous toothy mouth and breathing a huge column of fire. The queen spun as she did so, spreading the fire every which way.

"Crap, watch out!" Hiccup yelped as the fire cut off his and Toothless' latest escape path. Toothless corkscrewed, but Hiccup heard the sound of burning leather all too clearly in his ears. Turning back, he grimaced as his guess was confirmed. The tailfin was slowly burning to a crisp.

"Alright, one shot left. Let's see if this works." Hiccup said. He turned Toothless around, praising every second that the tailfin kept them airborne, and flew close to the queen's hampered vision. The beast spotted them, widening her damaged eye, and snarled violently. "Come on!" he yelled, taunting the huge dragon to chase them. Toothless dove, and the heat of the queen hot on their heels made Hiccup squirm.

They broke through the storm clouds, the ground quickly rushing up to meet them. The queen behind them opened her mouth, hoping to snatch them up in her jaws, but when that clearly wasn't going to work, she changed her method.

"Hold, Toothless…" Hiccup whispered, and he waited until he heard the telltale _hiss_ of gas building in the dragon's mouth. _"Now!"_

Hiccup whirled Toothless around so that they looked straight at the queen, and Toothless automatically shot a ball of plasma straight into the queen's open mouth. The enormous dragon gasped as the gas in her throat caught fire, not intending to ignite it herself just yet.

"Okay, go!" Hiccup yelled, and he whirled Toothless back around. The Night Fury unfurled his wings and the wind caught them. They were dragged up past the queen's head, catching sight of her wings literally burning to cinders. She wouldn't be able to pull up, hurtling instead to her doom on the fast-approaching ground.

The explosion rattled Hiccup's ears, and the heat of the spreading fire vibrated against his skin. Flame rushed up after them, faster than Toothless could hope to fly as they navigated past the countless frills and protrusions decorating the queen's enormous back.

Hiccup cranked his foot along the tailfin's pedal, trying to open it up fully so they could escape. But the fin didn't respond. Panicked, Hiccup looked back, and he saw the burnt skeleton of the tailfin promptly fall off of the rigging attached to Toothless' tail.

Hiccup gasped and pointed his eyes ahead, gasping as he watched the queen's clubbed tail come hurtling toward them. The tailfin was gone, which meant they couldn't change course, even if Hiccup put all of his might into turning Toothless sideways. They would just continue to fly straight—right at the incoming club.

"No." Hiccup stammered. _Not like this!_ "No, no!"

Toothless roared in fear and the club struck them, stopping Toothless' flight path cold. The force snapped the harness in two and Hiccup was kicked off of the saddle by the hit. Toothless felt Hiccup's absence instantly and whirled around as he began to fall, watching his human plummet helplessly below him.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled, and the dragon chased after him, flapping his wings relentlessly in an attempt to close the gap.

The fire quickly rose up on either side of Hiccup's vision as Toothless closed in. Hiccup reached out for the dragon, falling with his back turned to the ground.

The next thing he felt was the sharp sting of teeth sinking into his leg. Then it was heat as the flames made their final reach to take him.

The next thing he saw was yellow, and then a blazing orange.

And then black.

* * *

Ash polluted her sight, obscuring everything around her. The teenage girl ran frantically through the haze, looking for something—_anything_ that might tell her Hiccup was alive.

Astrid panted, slowly panicking as she found nothing. Seawater calmly lapped at the shore, unaware of the great battle that had just taken place. Vikings surged in behind her, led by none other than Stoick the Vast as he too searched for some sign that his son was safe.

"Hiccup!" the Chief yelled, the panic in his voice clearer than anything Astrid had ever heard from him before.

Likewise hoping that Hiccup would suddenly call out to her in answer, Astrid sent her voice to the wind, "Hiccup!"

"Son!" Stoick tried again, flailing through the ash and smoke and the overpowering stench of death.

They saw it at the exact same time. A black shape huddled on the ground, silently tucked into itself as a thousand weak fires burned out their last breaths around it. Astrid and Stoick breathed in at the same time, rushing forward. Their hearts swelled as they realized that the shape was Toothless.

That hope was then suddenly dashed as the details filled themselves in. Astrid squinted through the falling ash, silently begging any god who would hear her that what she was seeing wasn't true. This couldn't happen now, not after the… moment that they'd shared before he'd taken off. Not when this beautiful little thing that was _them_ was just getting started.

The saddle on Toothless' back was empty, charred into a useless scrap of leather by the flames. The contraption on the Night Fury's tail where the dragon's prosthetic tailfin was supposed to be was ruined, warped into a handful of thin, snarled rods. Although damaged beyond repair, everything was where it was supposed to be.

Except for Hiccup.

Astrid stood deathly still as Stoick took a few more steps, each heavier than the last. Tears jerked at Astrid's eyes, not believing what they were seeing. Her hands found her face, covering her nose and mouth in an attempt to hide the horror creeping onto her features. Toothless was clearly alive, breathing in and out at a painfully slow pace.

She was the best warrior of her generation, and yet she'd never felt as useless as she did now.

Hiccup was gone. And her world was darker for it.

* * *

**How did I do? Was that good? Was that bad?**

**Next couple of updates are actually some of my favorite parts: a few Astrid-centric chapters as we explore what it's like without Hiccup! Some changes are in order for Berk, but the talking fishbone that started it all is temporarily out of commission. How will it all go down? Until next time, thanks for reading!**


	22. Healing

**_22\. Healing_**

Astrid wasn't sure how much time had passed, standing there on the rocky beach surrounded by ashes. Surely it was only a few seconds. But she was so lost, and so frozen, that she couldn't find it in herself to say that it hadn't been hours. It was still dark and gloomy over Dragon Island, so there wasn't a completely foolproof way to tell. Droplets of rain started pit-pattering on the black beach, singing the ominous song of sacrifice.

They had won, but at what cost?

The ground shook as Stoick fell to his knees, a choked sob splitting the wind. Flakes of ash settled on his shoulder pads.

Astrid's heart tugged as Toothless slowly opened his green eyes, confusion fluttering through them as they adjusted. The Night Fury held this strangely neutral, appraising stare on Stoick. Vikings lined up well behind them, faint whispers circulating through the crowd and reaching Astrid's ears thanks to the utter silence on the island.

"Oh, son…" Stoick _whimpered_, "I'm so, so sorry."

Toothless crooned, a hot, pained exhale escaping from the dragon's nostrils. Stoick fixed his eyes on the ground, vision starting to blur as something resembling tears jerked at his usually hard, tough eyes.

The motion of Toothless' wings caught Stoick's attention, and he snapped his head up just in time to watch as the dragon unfolded its great black wings to reveal a scrawny, unmistakable shape.

Stoick gasped, or maybe Astrid gasped. Perhaps both of them did.

"Hiccup!" Stoick breathed, trying to surge to his feet and run forward at the same time. He nearly stumbled as a result, reaching the downed dragon on his knees. The chief's huge hands reached out for the boy, and Astrid dropped down by Stoick's side, likewise silently examining Hiccup.

Stoick's hands touched Hiccup's face first. The boy's skin was warm, kissed by fire just before his Night Fury could catch up to him. Stoick stripped his huge helmet from his head next and bent over, planting his ear on Hiccup's chest and tensing.

_Thump-thump._

Stoick heard the heartbeat loud and clear, and he caught the sound of the faintest breath escaping Hiccup's nose. The chief shut his eyes tight, shaking at the revelation.

"Chief?" Astrid whispered, terrified.

"He's alive!" Stoick gasped, sucking in a few quick breaths as he leaned his head up. He eyed the Night Fury at his feet, "You brought him back alive!"

Astrid clasped her hands around her mouth, joyous tears trying to fight free from her pristine blue eyes. The Viking horde behind them erupted in cheers, some of them surging ahead. Astrid spotted her father, Gobber, and Spitelout among them. Ingvar reached Astrid's side, and she hugged her father tight, shaking with relief.

"He's alive." Astrid repeated. A morbid, happy laugh escaped her as she processed it.

"And all because of him." Stoick said, nodding at Toothless. The Night Fury warbled, confused. Where there had once been pure, burning hatred in the chief's eyes, now there was only compassion and gratitude.

Stoick leaned down toward Toothless, one hand cradling Hiccup's head as more men approached, boots and weapons clanking in the wind. He gently placed his other hand on Toothless' nearby wing, smiling warmly.

"Thank you for saving my son." Stoick said.

Ingvar suddenly stiffened. Astrid followed his eyes, turning back to look at the end of Hiccup's body.

"Astrid, no—" Ingvar croaked. He reached out to shield his daughter's eyes, but he was too slow. Astrid gasped as she took in the sight of his leg.

Gobber padded up beside her and Stoick, hands nervously placed on his hips and eyes fixated on the boy's lower half. "Well, you know… most of him."

* * *

Astrid refused to look back at the leg as men surged in. The jubilation caused by Hiccup's survival had almost instantly morphed into horror as the word passed like lightning, talk of the _injury_ bringing everyone back down to Midgard. The image was frozen in Astrid's mind even as she tried to focus on literally anything else. Hiccup's shin was splintered, blood and snapped bone and shredded fabric replacing his once-healthy leg. If by some miracle it ever healed on its own, he would never walk again. It was hardly a debate that there was no way that he could keep his leg. It had to come off.

Astrid had heard all about battlefield amputations, listening intently as a child while they explained it to her. It had been the coolest part of the class, actually. Because she was a girl, she'd had to take basic healing lessons from Gothi and some of the other women when she was younger, holed up in a hut with the other young girls as the women lectured. Astrid had hated it, wanting instead to be out in the forest killing trees with an axe in her hand and the sun on her skin.

The day they talked about battlefield amputations, then, had attracted her for some morbid reason. The fast-paced urgency of their nature, the implications of a warrior going down in battle and needing immediate operation, somehow it had held her interest. Sometimes, such procedures were simply necessary, as there was no other way to save a man's life in such short notice.

As it turned out, no amount of instruction could've actually prepared her for it really happening, and certainly not to someone she cared about so much.

"Get ready to hold 'im down! He's not going to like it when we start cutting," Gobber ordered. He was heading the emergency amputation, probably in part because he'd lost two of his own limbs earlier in life, "Hoark, how's it coming?"

Hoark glanced up, heating a set of tools over a makeshift fire. The metal was a dim red, and steadily brightening as it continued to heat up. "Nearly there, Gobber." Astrid remembered learning about this part. Preventing infection was of paramount importance. If they wanted Hiccup to live, they'd need to cut the ruined leg away with clean tools, and the only way to clean them was with fire.

"Gobber!" Ack called, jogging over with multiple flasks. Gobber nodded and Ack unscrewed the first one, stooping down to begin force-feeding Hiccup the alcohol inside.

"What are they doing?" Astrid asked her father, who stood beside her with a loving hand placed on her shoulder. She wasn't familiar with this part.

Ingvar frowned, "Doing their best to numb him. They don't want him to go into shock. He's a wee thing, so it shouldn't take much, but a man'll fight like Hel when his limb's being taken away. The drunker he is, the better."

This was probably the only situation where such a sentence was uttered completely seriously. Astrid stifled a sob, and she leaned her head against her father's side. Ingvar carefully curled his arm around her, holding her close and protective. Astrid sniffled, "Just please don't let him die, dad."

"I won't, darling." Ingvar promised.

"Ingvar. Come." Stoick called, and Ingvar stepped to meet the other men. They all leaned over Hiccup, who had been moved away from Toothless and set down on a long cloth obtained from one of the surviving ships. The Night Fury watched as the men swarmed over his human, and it was safe to say that Toothless was not happy, a low growl coming from his throat as the dragon bared his teeth.

"Toothless, it's okay." Astrid insisted, but the Night Fury was unconvinced. Hoark began bringing a few tools to the body, and the sight of the knives and clamps set Toothless off. The Night Fury roared, rearing up and swinging his feet in fear.

"Get a handle on that dragon, lass!" Gobber snapped, and Astrid stepped in front of Toothless, tentatively raising her arms.

"Toothless!" Astrid shouted. Toothless settled down, falling back to all fours and warbling at her. She was actually amazed at how easily he listened. The fear in the dragon's tone was loud and clear. Astrid carefully touched the dragon's head, "You did great, Toothless, but they've gotta take his leg if he's going to live."

Toothless crooned, sad. "You were amazing up there. Hiccup's alive right now because of you. But it won't last if you don't let them work." Astrid offered the Night Fury her hand, silently pleading for the dragon to calm.

Toothless gently pushed his head to Astrid's hand, exhaling hot air and relaxing.

Gobber looked at her, surprised. He looked like he wanted to say something, or ask questions, but instead he nodded and turned back to focus on Hiccup. "Alright, let's get this over with."

Astrid kept her eyes on Toothless, refusing to watch the procedure occurring behind her. She heard the shuffling of men going to work, and Toothless whined worriedly.

"I know, Toothless. It's okay, it's okay…" Astrid whispered, though more to convince herself than the dragon. Voices reached her ears and Astrid closed her eyes tight, grabbing onto Toothless and hating how her entire body curled up in itself as she heard the final _thunk_ of steel cutting through bone.

* * *

It was over as soon as it began. Ingvar Hofferson's hands found a place on Astrid's shoulder and the young warrior relaxed, tentatively turning to find Hiccup's body in the fray. Enormous men sighed and stepped away from the body one by one, all except for Stoick.

Astrid shot a thankful glance to her father and stepped towards the chief, knowing with all her heart that she had to see what they'd done. There was no avoiding it.

The sight sent a chill crawling up her back. Hiccup's leg had been cut away below the knee, a good two inches above the end of the grievous wound that had marked it for removal. The ensuing wound from the amputation had been cauterized by a hot knife and tightly wrapped with bandages. A few inches below that, the black rocks of the beach were stained with crimson blood. The rain had picked up, now, and it was starting to wash the blood through the cracks and spaces between the rocks. Through it all, Hiccup lied still, unconscious except for the random groans escaping his lips every so often.

"I fear for when he wakes up." Stoick murmured, standing at Astrid's side. "He will have many questions. And now there is the problem of getting home."

"Can we not fly him back to Berk?"

"It would be fastest, but Gobber worries that dragonback will be too stressful. I can't risk his life for the fastest option. Amputation is stressful; right now, Hiccup needs rest. But he also needs a real healer. I don't know what to do." Stoick explained.

Astrid looked back at the remains of the fleet. The queen had burned nearly every ship to a crisp, leaving the torched remnants floating aimlessly in the black water. A few vessels were left in the back and off to the side of the line of fire, still seaworthy in spite of everything.

_What would Hiccup do,_ she wondered? _What would Hiccup do?_

Astrid looked toward the large group of Vikings, all standing a safe distance away and busy recovering from the battle themselves. Fortunately, there were no injuries as serious as Hiccup's. Her fellow teenagers were caring for the dragons nearby, keeping the lizards occupied and generally away from the distrustful eyes of the older generation.

She took another look at the ships, then the dragons, and the idea came to her.

"The dragons can pull the ships."

Stoick flinched and looked up at her, squinting in confusion, "What did you say?"

"The dragons can pull the ships," Astrid repeated, the details falling out before her in her mind's eye. She gestured rapidly, feeling awkwardly like Hiccup when he was having one of his bright ideas, "Get as many ships as we can and tie them to the dragons. It'll work faster than just the sails. We can keep Hiccup in stable condition and still sail faster than with just the wind.

Stoick took all of three seconds to process the idea and nodded, turning to his men, "Gobber! We have a plan!"

* * *

Astrid stood aboard the prow of the lead ship, squinting as salt stung her eyes and they broke through the fog of Helheim's Gate. The open ocean revealed itself to her, an endless expanse of dark blue churning in the ship's wake and _thump_ing against the hull.

It was nothing compared to the open sky, Astrid thought to herself.

Above her, a Monstrous Nightmare tugged the ship onward, a rope tied taut around its abdomen. The strong dragon flapped its wings, seemingly unbothered by the extra weight. The wind blew strong at their backs, adding a little extra thrust and ultimately sending them on their way faster than sailing on the winds alone.

Behind her, there was a chorus of cheers as more ships emerged from the fog, victorious cries that made Astrid's heart soar with pride. A few Zipplebacks pulled another ship, a few Gronckles tugged a third, and teams of other dragons worked alongside each other to pull the remaining handful of ships across the sea. Each vessel was packed with as many Vikings as could fit without sinking the boat, but the dragons hardly struggled. The sun had set behind them, marking the end of a wild and trying day.

This was not what Astrid had anticipated for the day when she met Hiccup in the cove at sunrise.

"Your plan worked." Stoick said, approaching her from the ship's starboard. He wore a proud smile and eyed the Nightmare above him. It was strange, normally when Stoick laid eyes on a Monstrous Nightmare, his hammer or his sword came out and he chased after it with blood on his mind. Now, the dragon was the instrument of their salvation.

"We got lucky." Astrid answered.

Stoick stifled a snort. "It seems Hiccup has rubbed off on you."

Astrid fixed her eyes toward the stern of the ship. Hiccup was lying in a small bed, silent and still except for the slow rising and falling of his chest. On the opposite side of the bed, Toothless watched him intently, never leaving his side. A few of the other Vikings on the ship as well eyed the Night Fury with caution, still not used to the idea of this infamous beast being on their side.

"He has," Astrid admitted, smiling in spite of their rather grim situation.

"Those other dragons… they came back when the Night Fury called for them."

Astrid wore a hard look. That was how it had happened, yes. Toothless had sent a roar to the sky, and more than a dozen dragons had come out of hiding and to their aid. The Night Fury himself would not be able to pull a ship without his tailfin, and Stormfly was injured. They needed more dragons, and the Night Fury had provided them.

_Stormfly._ The Nadder was on another ship, unable to fit onto the lead vessel due to the amount of weight she'd have added to the packed ship. Her father had sworn to care for her in Astrid's stead. She was thankful for him. Ingvar Hofferson was about the only other person that she would trust right now to look after her dragon.

"Why do you think that is?" Stoick asked her.

"Why are you asking me?" Astrid inquired, quietly.

Stoick shrugged. "I'm afraid I can no longer claim to know much of anything about dragons. You were correct earlier, lass. I was hoping you could try to educate me."

Astrid blinked, wondering. The other dragons from the ring had responded when Toothless had called for them during the battle, and they'd covered them when Hiccup and Toothless had come to her aid after Stormfly went down, even in the fearsome face of their queen.

It was like they had _chosen_ to follow Toothless. Like they'd picked him as a _leader_ and listened to him because of it, even as the dragon asked incredible things of them.

But instead of voicing that idea, she simply said, "I don't know."

Stoick shrugged and looked ahead of them, feeling the strength of the wind and eyeing the ship's speed. The moon was beginning to peer over the sea, and their speed was just as favorable than it had been on the first trip to Helheim's Gate.

"At this rate, we should reach Berk by morning."

"Good." Astrid managed.

Stoick watched Astrid carefully.

"He'll be fine, lass." Stoick assured her, "Thanks to you."

"I hope you're right," Astrid said. The next two days would be crucial to Hiccup's health, she knew that.

Stoick looked up at the Nightmare tugging the ship again.

"Berk is going to be a different place when we return. Just this morning, the world was a different place than it is right now." Stoick said. He allowed himself a short, abbreviated chuckle, the sound deep and baritone. "It's funny."

Stoick turned and walked away from Astrid, leaving her alone on the bow to realize a few moments later that she had never heard Stoick the Vast _laugh._

* * *

The sky was dark as Berk came into view, glowing in the night by the light of a thousand torches. The sun would be coming up soon; it was about an hour—perhaps two—before sunrise.

A horn sounded from the island as the Monstrous Nightmare guided the ship into port, tailed by Zipplebacks and Gronckles doing the same along with several others. People rushed from their homes in confusion. Dragon raids didn't happen in the winter.

When the people left behind on Berk spotted the dragons tethered to the returning ships, their confusion multiplied.

Toothless released a short roar as Vikings scrambled to disembark. The Nightmare that had been pulling the ship for the last several hours descended, landing with a loud crash on the deck. People shouted as they streamed down the ramp to the docks, some with their weapons drawn. The Nightmare saw the people coming for it and instantly became on edge, raising its hackles and baring its teeth.

Stoick leaped off of the ship and ran between the dragon and his people, raising his huge hands and roaring. _"STOP!"_

The horde of Vikings skidded to a stop, not a disobedient bone in their bodies. Astrid vaulted off of the ship and onto the deck, the tension in the crowd palpable in the air as she slowly walked toward Stoick and the mob.

"Stoick, what's going on?" someone shrieked.

"All will be explained later, but until then, _no one_ is permitted to harm _any_ dragons!" Stoick shouted.

"But why?" another Viking yelled.

"_Clear a path!"_ Gobber shouted from the deck. Astrid scrambled out of the way and the blacksmith, assisted by Hoark and Ack, disembarked from the ship with Hiccup lifted on a lightweight stretcher, the skinny boy nearly wrapped up in the cloth and fast asleep.

Toothless followed them off the ship as they advanced, eyeing the people with a hint of distrust. Vikings shifted out of the way, none of them keen to be shoved aside by Gobber.

"_Is that Hiccup?"_

"_And that Night Fury?"_

"_What's happened…?"_

Astrid reached Stoick and the Chief nodded, silently signaling for her to follow the trio hoisting Hiccup away. She nodded and pivoted, eyes fixed ahead as she chased after Hoark, Ack, and Gobber. Stoick's voice rang out behind her, commanding.

"_My order stands! No one will harm any dragons!"_

Astrid reached the three men, who stopped at the top of the ramp to wait for Stoick. The Chief was close on Astrid's heels, reaching the top of the ramp almost immediately after her.

"Astrid, go fetch Gothi. We're taking Hiccup to the house." Stoick ordered.

"An' be quick about it, lass." Gobber added, face stricken with worry.

Astrid nodded and bolted in the other direction, heading straight for Gothi's perch. The hut was high above any other home on Berk, connected to the ground by a long ladder. Astrid had always wondered why in Thor's name the Elder would live in such a place, considering her frail form and the fact that she was often charged with healing duties. Nevertheless, she reached the ladder and scrambled up the rungs, shivering as she became exposed to the freezing air.

It took all of Astrid's strength to not beat the door down. She knocked rapidly, rapping her knuckles on the wood and waiting. She chanced a look down at the village below, managing to spot the minimized shapes of Stoick and the others reaching the Haddock home.

Astrid knocked again, impatient. Almost immediately after, the door opened just a crack, revealing an annoyed Gothi. The old woman never came out of her home during a dragon raid; and considering the sound of the horn that had split the night just moments ago, she had probably been holed up inside for her own safety.

"It's Hiccup." Astrid said, ignoring Gothi's cross look. The Elder's eyes softened, and she briefly gazed around the night sky to find that, curiously, the night sky was in fact not filled with scales and fire. "He needs your help."

With that, Astrid turned and bolted down the ladder, leaving the Elder to follow at her own pace. She heard the sound of bottles clinking against each other and something _thump_ on the wood and took it to mean that Gothi was on her way.

She didn't look back as she ran for the Haddock house.

* * *

Calm had settled over the house. Morning sunlight peeked through the gaps in the covered windows. Gothi had arrived moments after Astrid, making amazing time despite her short, spindly frame. With the assistance of Mrs. Ack, who had healing experience of her own, she'd gone to work, shoving any and all men (plus Astrid) out of the way with a crude slap of her staff.

The process had gone by rather quickly, as Gothi and Mrs. Ack searched for any signs of infection and fed the sleeping boy the requisite medicines. In the end, they declared him stable and changed his bandages before leaving.

The only problem was, he was still unconscious.

Hiccup was alive, that much was certain, but there was no telling for how long. Gothi had said (or rather, written) that she would return in the evening to check on him and administer any necessary medicines. There was a solid chance that Hiccup would catch a fever, and no indication for how long it would be until he woke.

Now, Astrid sat across from Stoick on one side of Hiccup's bed, quietly sipping from a mug of tea. It was just them, Hiccup, and Toothless in the house now. The bed had been placed in the common room for simplicity's sake, and the dragon dutifully stood guard while Astrid and Stoick drank from their tea. He hadn't understood at first why Hiccup wouldn't wake, and now sat with his rounded head pitifully strewn across the blankets beside Hiccup's belly, inhaling and exhaling slow, heavy breaths.

"He really shot one down…" Stoick finally commented, eyes fixed curiously on Toothless. He flashed a glance to the Night Fury's ruined tail. The remains of the prosthetic and the rigging that had come with it had since been removed so that Gobber could study it and try to replicate it.

"He did. And nobody believed him." Astrid replied, "Not even me."

"How did you find out the truth?" Stoick inquired, sipping from his tea and casting a compassionate look at her.

"He kept vanishing after training. He wouldn't turn up again until it was time to eat dinner with the rest of us, and sometimes he'd even miss that." Astrid explained, "I got sick of it and followed him into the woods one day, and I stumbled on him and Toothless there. His machine tore away part of Toothless' tail, so he'd been building a prosthetic in secret and using it to teach him to fly again."

Stoick snorted, "Well, Hiccup was already a lot of things… I suppose it wasn't beyond him to add 'traitor' to the list."

Astrid cast him a look.

"Of course, I won't do anything about it. I'm afraid I can't justify it anymore. The dragon saved him. It saved all of us." Stoick clarified, flashing a small smile to indicate that he had been joking. "And I'm inclined to believe that we are now living in an era of change."

"All these years, I neglected him." Stoick quietly lamented, "I scorned his quirks and his differences. He was small and scrawny and smart… just like Val. I just wish that I had seen the good in those things sooner. He's all I have left of his mother. I should've cherished that, taught him and let him flourish. I think I was so afraid of losing him like I lost Val, that I forced him to stay hidden. Somewhere along the way, I grew so tired of having to protect him—of him not being able to protect himself—that I lost sight of that and just grew… bitter. I've done him wrong many, many times."

Astrid fixed her eyes on the floor for several moments, processing Stoick's words. He never mentioned his late wife to anyone, except maybe Gobber, and it made her feel almost disturbingly important.

"There's time to make amends for that." Astrid suggested, meeting Stoick's eyes again.

The Chief nodded, "I hope he is willing to forgive me."

"He will be. I know it." Astrid assured him. She cast a glance at Toothless, and then another at the elder Haddock, and she suddenly stood, setting her cup of tea down on the table. "I want to show you something, Chief."

"Stoick," he corrected her, eyes warm.

Astrid paused, and then nodded. "I want to show you something, Stoick. If it's all right."

Stoick looked confused, but he stood up anyway and watched as Astrid led him to Hiccup's bedside. Toothless looked up at the two approaching humans, lifting his head off of the furs and warbling sweetly.

"The offspring of lightning and death itself, lying over my boy like a lost pup." Stoick muttered, disbelieving.

Toothless crooned and Astrid grazed his head with her fingers, gently brushing his jet-black scales. "You should see for yourself, Chief—Stoick… why he changed Hiccup's mind. Why he changed my mind."

It was a bit of a struggle, but Astrid got Stoick to hover his hand near Toothless' snout. He may have implied that he was willing to accept the dragons, but that didn't yet mean that he would leap off the cliff and become a dragon lover. Like her, he had his reservations.

The Chief curled his fingers in and out, visibly nervous. Toothless watched him with this appraising glance, eyeing the large man curiously.

"He won't hurt you." Astrid said.

Stoick cast a glance at her, a question forming in his mind. "Why… why Toothless?"

A thin smile broke across Astrid's face, "His teeth are retractable."

Stoick did a double take, looking at the dragon, and then Astrid, and then back at the dragon. "Really?" he asked, stunned.

"Really."

Stoick locked eyes with Toothless, and then gently pushed his hand towards the dragon, every instinct in his body trying to dissuade him. Defiantly, the Chief pushed on, waiting with his palm inches from Toothless.

The Night Fury appraised Stoick once more, pupils wide and curious.

And then he closed the gap.

* * *

**Did you guys catch the hints of Alpha Toothless? I threw those in there and I like the mystery of it at this point. Of course, Toothless isn't going to be glowing and be the king of dragons, at least not in the course of this story. I will admit that I've been holding some brainstorming sessions on how to expand the Bound continuity once the story's all said and done.**

**No promises, though.**

**A really huge thanks to everyone who reviewed Chapter 21, you all made my heart melt! I can't begin to tell you guys how happy I was that virtually everyone enjoyed the big battle. This chapter is obviously a bit of a screeching halt in the action as we hit the aftermath, but there's still a few more to go, and I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on the resolution!**

**See you all next week!**


	23. A New Dawn

**You guys are awesome, seriously. Here's the next installment, I really enjoyed writing this particular chapter and I hope you guys enjoy reading it just as much.**

**As always, I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts. It would mean the world to me if a bunch of y'all sent in reviews with your thoughts about this Astrid-centric section of the story. Thanks again for checking out this story, and I'll see you soon!**

* * *

**_23\. A New Dawn_**

The Great Hall was packed. It was late morning, and Vikings clamored throughout the hall, shouting and stamping and just generally being loud. At the long table along the end of the hall, Stoick and the man and women that made up the council sat in individual chairs. Astrid had been called up to sit next to Stoick and represent Hiccup by his side as the boy would normally do during village meetings.

The last village meeting had been weeks ago when Stoick pushed for another expedition to the nest. Now, the topic of discussion was effectively the polar opposite. Only days ago, a meeting like this would be on the subject of killing dragons. Now, it was something else entirely. Astrid herself wasn't even sure what Stoick intended with the meeting.

Stoick watched the uproar with quiet reservation. People occasionally looked his way, but he was hardly the center of attention. There was almost no room to move through the Great Hall anymore. Stoick glanced at Astrid, showing no emotion, and then eyed the rest of the council: Spitelout, Gobber, Phlegma, Astrid's father, and a handful of other trusted Vikings.

Finally, he decided, it was time to call this meeting to order. He had a pressing task to get to.

"Alright, _alright!" _Stoick called, his great voice carrying across the crowd and echoing in the hall. "Let's get started," he said, and the flood gates promptly opened.

"Why are there dragons in the port?" someone shouted, and others angrily added their two cents.

"Berk is in a difficult place, one that it has not found itself in ever before. My experiences in the last day have been nothing short of alarming, and I have decided that changes are in order." Stoick explained, "Starting today, I am declaring a full stop to the war on dragons."

The room erupted, though the actual emotion behind it was mixed. Astrid noticed that many of the warriors who had been at the nest remained quiet or obedient, while the majority of the crowd that made up the dissention had been left behind by Stoick's expedition. Younger warriors, especially. Astrid thought she spotted Snagtooth on the front row, a lovely dark bruise coloring the side of his head. He was snapping and shouting with the rest of his ilk.

"_What do you mean, a full stop?"_

"_Dragons are our enemies!"_

"_What is the meaning of this?"_

Stoick raised his huge hands into the air, commanding the room to quiet down. "Peace, peace! I know that our return from Helheim's Gate was most unexpected. But there is a reason for it, I swear it! My son is currently comatose after escaping Berk and intervening in the battle at the nest. Had he not come, none of us would still be alive! Living at the nest was a creature unlike any I've ever seen, as large as the Nidhogg itself! We have reason to believe that it was the monarch of the dragons. She is dead now, because of my son, his friends, and the aid of dragons!"

The crowd stared in disbelief as Stoick continued, "And from what I have now seen, I no longer believe that dragons are our enemies. I believe that they are victims of a cruel ruler, and that they can become our friends."

Stoick's words sent the crowd into another uproar. From his seat at the end of the table, Spitelout leaned forward and called out to the Chief.

"Stoick, surely you must think that this decision is a tad rash?"

"Maybe," Stoick conceded, "but the fact of the matter is that the dragons saved our lives."

"_And what about the traitors?" _a voice rasped from the crowd. Astrid looked to the mob with the rest of the council, grimacing. She knew that voice.

Vikings stepped out of the way and an elderly man wriggled to the front, one hand clasped around a long staff decorated with large dragon teeth. Mildew growled; his face twisted in irritation. Stoick's eyes narrowed equally as Mildew stamped the end of his staff on the Great Hall's floor.

"You leave town with a Night Fury in chains and every ship we have full to the brim, swearing that it will be the end of dragon-kind. Not a day later, you return spouting that the dragons are suddenly our friends?" Mildew snarled.

"I understand your confusion, Mildew, and I beseech you to understand. Yes, the dragons have done terrible things to our people for longer than any of us have been alive. I'm telling you now that none of it has been their decision. They are—or were, rather—controlled by a tyrant that forced them to bring food, and their wills were bent toward this end," Stoick countered.

"So, your solution is to simply make nice with the devils?" Mildew snapped. "The last person that called for us to stop the fighting was _killed_ by the same creatures she sought to protect! Or have you forgetten that, _Chief?"_

Stoick suddenly bristled, "I would advise you not to speak ill of my late wife, Mildew."

"You are siding with the scourge of our village!" Mildew railed.

"I am siding with Astrid Hofferson and _my son,_ who have shown me another way of dealing with dragons," Stoick replied. He raised his voice, "My decision is no longer up for debate. I have been given a second chance, as have most of the men and women here, and I intend to make good on it. Anyone who fails to understand me is free to take it up with those who were with us at the nest!"

Around the Great Hall, a large majority of the villagers nodded, drawing surprised looks from the dissenters such as Mildew and the younger warriors. Stoick turned to look at his council, spread out along either side of him at the high table. "I move that we outlaw the killing or maiming of dragons on Berk. All those in favor?"

One by one, each member of the council raised their hands in agreement. Stoick stole a glance at Astrid and smiled. The decision was unanimous. Mildew suddenly stalked off, shoving his way through the crowd in disgust.

As a mere formality, Stoick added, "And all those opposed?" No one on the council raised their hands, for they'd already cast their votes, and Stoick nodded before raising his voice for the crowd. "As of this moment, it is now against Berkian law to kill or maim dragons! To do so shall be punishable by exile or death! Do we have any further opposition?"

No one dared speak out.

"Very well. This meeting is adjourned."

The silence was punctured by murmurs as hordes of Vikings filtered out of the Great Hall. Stoick sat back in his seat, sighing, and members of the council began pushing themselves out of their chairs and departing from the meeting. Astrid remained seated beside Stoick, listening to the flicker of the fire in the huge hearth at her back. Finally, she started to get out of her seat, wanting to check on Hiccup.

"Wait," Stoick said softly, and she froze. "Before you go, Astrid. I have something to ask of you."

* * *

Astrid woke to the sound of a faint buzzing outside her window. Sleep pricked at her eyes as she opened them, but she was unable to focus on the comfort of her furs and return to sleep. Sunlight was trickling in through her open window, so that probably meant that it was time for her to get up, anyhow.

Astrid swung out of bed and rose to her feet, that sound calling her to the window. As she woke from her slumber, the sounds became clearer and she dared to say that it sounded like _singing._

She peered out of her window, tracing the sound up above her. Sure enough, a pack of six Terrible Terrors were perched on the edge of the roof just above her window, jabbering and humming as the morning sun crawled up in the sky.

She decided that she liked the sound and slipped back into her room, changing out of her night gown and into her daytime clothes. She mounted her metal pads onto her shoulders and slid her kransen onto her head after arranging her hair in its usual style, a long, tangled braid hanging at her back while a few stubborn bangs dangled over her eyes.

Astrid quickly bounded down to breakfast, ate, and then prepared a plate of fish that she carried outside into the cold morning.

At the side of her house was a shed that now served as a makeshift stable. Astrid swung open the door and a sleepy squawk found her ears. She looked down and found a Deadly Nadder resting underneath the crude roofed structure, a large sling reaching around her neck and holding her broken wing in place.

"Good morning, Stormfly." Astrid cooed. The Nadder roused, squawking as she took in the sight of her girl. Astrid set the plate of fish right underneath the dragon and Stormfly promptly ate, gulping down the assortment with glee and squawking appreciatively.

"How's that wing doing?" Astrid asked and approached Stormfly's wounded side. The Nadder crooned with concern and Astrid gently grazed the sling with her fingers. "It's a little better, right?"

"_Rawk…"_ Stormfly managed. The Nadder shook her round head, producing a relaxing crackling from her neck muscles, and then reached over to preen Astrid. It was one of the Nadder's favorite habits.

Astrid giggled and Stormfly pulled away after a few strokes, having satisfactorily groomed Astrid's hair. Astrid brushed the Nadder's crown of spines, grazing the ends of her nearest scales atop her head, and then caressed the curved horn above her nose.

"That's my brave girl." Astrid praised, "So, what would you say to getting out of this shed and heading to training with me? We've got a big day ahead of us."

Stormfly squawked and wriggled out from the shed to stand completely, stretching her unbound wing. The Nadder's eyes relaxed as she drank in the sunlight.

"Sounds like that's settled," Astrid beamed. She strolled down the dirt road toward the arena, Stormfly hot on her heels. On more than one occasion, dragons crossed their path, some making their way to the nearest food trough for breakfast and others getting in some morning exercise through games of chase.

They'd been back on Berk for a little more than a day, and already they'd seen a dramatic influx of wild dragons looking to make friends. Early yesterday, Stoick had decreed the dragons their allies, and he instituted a motion to offer training lessons to any Berkian interested in bonding with their new reptilian visitors.

As the most experienced dragon trainer ready and able on Berk, Astrid had immediately been assigned to head the training sessions. What had once been the kill ring was quickly converted into Berk's dragon training arena… pending some updates, of course.

Astrid arrived at the arena well before her first charges were scheduled to arrive, opening up the arena with Stormfly's help. A cluster of various dragons had taken up residence inside, coerced into doing so with the help of several troughs of fish from the night before. Several Gronckles, Nadders, and a lone Zippleback strutted around, particularly interested in Stormfly. A pair of Monstrous Nightmares were also present, keeping to themselves in the corner. Lastly, a horde of Terrible Terrors danced through the sky, shrieking and snapping at each other's tails as they fought over a fish.

Stormfly wriggled excitedly at the sight of fellow dragons and looked to Astrid for approval. The blonde girl snickered, a smile crossing her face.

"Well, don't look at me, girl. Go have fun." Astrid said, and Stormfly was off, stumbling over to the other dragons on her too-big legs and squawking, her injured wing hardly even bothering her. The other Nadders were especially receptive, performing some sort of odd greeting dance with her.

Astrid began setting up, recalling many of the things that Hiccup had taught her during their excursions in the forest. She'd personally made the trek to Raven Point the other day and collected some of that special grass that he'd harvested. It really wasn't much, but she had to do her best. She was getting a second chance, and she had to prove to the rest of the tribe that Stoick's decision on dragons was the right one.

Luckily, she wasn't going to be at the task alone. Minutes later, she heard the familiar buzzing of a Gronckle in-flight, and one of the burly dragons flew over the arena's roofing and promptly landed outside the gate, carrying a husky Viking boy on its back. The new arrival swung off the dragon's back and sauntered inside, admiring the host of dragons that filled the arena.

"Morning, Astrid." Fishlegs greeted, a bit flustered, "Need any help?"

"I'm not sure there's much to do… just waiting on people to show up."

Fishlegs shrugged, "I saw some of them headed here on the flight in. I'll try my best to help, but I'm obviously still learning, too, and you are kind of the expert, so I'll stay out of the way as much as I can."

Astrid grumbled, "The expert would actually be Hiccup, I'm just the only one that knew his secret."

Fishlegs half-nodded in understanding. After a few seconds of silence, he managed to squeak out, "Um… how, how is he, if I may ask?"

"No change as of last night. Gothi said everything points to him being fine, but he won't wake up." Astrid answered, turning her back to Fishlegs so he wouldn't see the burgeoning emotions written on her face.

Fishlegs bit his lip, "He's going to pull through, Astrid. Don't you worry."

Before Astrid could respond, the shapes of a few Vikings strolled into view at the edge of the arena, warily watching the dragons inside. Astrid spotted Phlegma the Fierce and Spitelout Jorgenson among them. It was obviously a political call, sending two of Stoick's best warriors to Astrid's dragon class. The village trusted Phlegma and Spitelout, as they did with the rest of the council. If she could show some of the village's most prominent warriors that dragons could indeed be bonded with, it would help the Chief's decision look good.

The group was seven strong, including Phlegma and Spitelout. The latter warrior stood stock still in the middle of the group with his muscular arms crossed, a brutal-looking hammer at his hip. Phlegma stood next to him and appeared significantly less menacing, but it was plain to Astrid that she was merely trying to seem neutral at best. As for the other five Vikings, their faces were masks of fear.

The dragons, too, were unnerved by the newcomers, keeping their distance and using Astrid and Fishlegs as a buffer.

"Good morning, everyone. Welcome to dragon training." Astrid said, making a point to use the term _dragon training._ If they wanted to create a dragon-friendly tribe, one of the first steps was going to be reinforcing a new line of thinking. What was once a class about _killing_ dragons would now be one about taming them.

Spitelout, unfortunately, found the terminology rather ridiculous. The older Jorgenson audibly scoffed. Astrid narrowed her eyes but chose to ignore him. Better not to get into it with a student on her first day.

Astrid quickly realized that _Spitelout Jorgenson_ was her _student._ That is, inherently less experienced than her.

"As you can see, the dragons are a little on edge. Our first step is going to be calming them down—to do that, I'm going to need everyone to dispose of their weapons." Astrid instructed.

Spitelout immediately interjected, "Come again? You want us to _disarm_ ourselves in the face of deadly creatures? You must be joking."

"I can assure you I am not. Dragons don't like weapons; it makes them defensive."

"Well, that's too bad." Spitelout sneered.

This time, Phlegma looked at the black-haired Viking, scowling, "Spitelout, you yak-brain! Do what the girl says, she knows more about the beasties than any of us."

"Oh, really? These things have harassed our home and harmed our loved ones for centuries. And now we're not only supposed to love them, but lay down our weapons for them?" Spitelout retorted, "I'm going to need something a tad less absurd."

Phlegma's scowl turned even worse as she turned her full body towards him. "Did you not see what they did at the nest? How they _saved_ all of us?"

"That was one example!" Spitelout snapped, "There is no proof that dragons are always good, and there's much more proof that they aren't."

"You're here on Stoick's orders! You _voted_ for this!" Phlegma yelled. The dragons behind Astrid began to grow more nervous, upset by the shouting.

"That _meeting _was a farce! I voted to pass, aye, but only because I knew the decision had already been made. There was no opposing Stoick there, and you know it as well as I, Phlegma."

"And you've voiced these concerns with Stoick, have you?"

Astrid needed to break this up before it escalated any further. She quickly interrupted, cool and collected, "I was like you, Spitelout. I couldn't—I _wouldn't_ believe that there were more good dragons out there than just Toothless. I was sure it was just a fluke. I'd seen too much that said otherwise. But that was when Hiccup showed me. He introduced me to Stormfly…" Astrid explained, pointing to her Nadder. Spitelout eyed the Nadder carefully, noting the sling holding its wing in place. The Jorgenson patriarch recalled what the blue-scaled dragon had done on Dragon Island, "and I saw the gentle creature that she was. I know it seems implausible, but it's true. Just put your reservations aside for an hour and give this a chance."

Spitelout examined her, eyes narrowed. The muscular man cast a glance at Phlegma, and then the others in the group, and he relented, though he remained tough. "Alright, lass. I'll play along." Spitelout unhooked his hammer from his belt and set it on the ground. Phlegma promptly followed by releasing her battle-axe. Seeing the example from the two respected warriors, the rest of the class laid down their weapons.

"Thank you. Fishlegs, would you mind collecting those weapons and getting them out of the way?" Astrid requested. Fishlegs nodded and did just that, hefting each of them into his arms and carrying them toward the entrance. When he returned to Astrid's side, the blonde decided it was time to begin.

Astrid scanned her class of seven, settling her sharp blue eyes on a woman with long red locks of hair twisted into several individual braids. She motioned for the woman to walk towards her, and Astrid put on her best smile.

"What's your name?"

"Ingrida," the woman answered, casting a nervous glance at the dragons.

"Hi, Ingrida. I'm Astrid. Let's find you a dragon." Astrid replied. She gently took Ingrida's hand and led her toward the group of dragons. The reptiles sniffed the air as Astrid brought Ingrida close, taking in the new scent. Many of them clicked their tongues curiously.

Astrid could feel how rigid Ingrida was, so she smiled in an attempt to soothe the woman's nerves. "I need you to not be afraid. Fear is what makes us attack the dragons. It's self-preservation. But the dragons can also tell when you're afraid, and it will make them uncomfortable too. Just like us, they'll lash out, because they'll get scared that you're going to hurt them."

Ingrida gulped, casting a look at Astrid. She nodded worriedly and took in a deep breath, doing her best to relax. Astrid examined the group of dragons, eyeing a Nadder with attractive purple scales.

"How about this one? Is that okay?" Astrid asked. Ingrida nodded, and Astrid briefly left her side to coax the purple-scaled Nadder forward. The Nadder crooned and crept towards Astrid, taking in the scent of the special grass that Astrid had pulled from her pocket. Its eyes grew wide, becoming smooth and curious as they filled the oversized golden orbs.

Astrid stepped back, carefully curling her fingers around Ingrida's arm. She raised Ingrida's arm up towards the Nadder and felt her go tense again.

"It's okay, it's okay." Astrid said. Ingrida looked at her again, seeing how calm Astrid was and likewise composing herself. The Nadder sniffed Ingrida's hand.

"'Legs, bring us a fish?" Astrid asked. Fishlegs nodded, stepping away and snatching a wet cod from one of the nearby troughs. He waddled over to Ingrida's other side, offering the fish to her.

"Want to try feeding her?" Fishlegs suggested.

Ingrida shivered, "B-But don't dragons… don't they eat people?"

Astrid barely prevented himself from scoffing, thinking back to a time when she had believed that too. It hadn't been very long ago.

_Odin above, we really thought that was true._ Thank all the gods for Hiccup. How did they even get along for so many years without him?

"No, they don't eat people, actually. What dragons really love is fish. They would come raid our village because their queen was hungry and commanded them to find her food." Astrid explained, "If they're left alone, you can usually find dragons diving into the sea to find fish to eat."

Ingrida seemed surprised, but she took the fish graciously and carefully held it out to the Nadder. The purple-scaled dragon trilled and moved on the fish, sniffing it for all of a second before swiping it from Ingrida's hand and tossing it in the air, snapping it up in two quick bites.

Ingrida stifled a laugh, surprised and amazed.

Phlegma, too, was stunned. "I never would've believed it…" the warrior woman gasped. Astrid smiled and turned back to Ingrida.

"Now offer her your hand." Astrid said. Ingrida raised her hand, infinitely more confident this time, and the purple-scaled Nadder cooed before inching closer. It sniffed Ingrida's hand and then placed its snout lovingly against her skin, squawking lightly.

"She's so warm," Ingrida commented, mesmerized.

"I think she likes you." Astrid said, smiling. Ingrida met her eyes and nodded, looking back to the dragon and allowing herself a childlike giggle.

"I apologize for being so… ignorant." Ingrida murmured, referring to her notion that dragons ate people.

"No need. You're here to learn, right? Everyone starts somewhere." Astrid assured her. She smiled inwardly at her own words. Maybe she did have a knack for this teaching thing after all.

With that, Astrid strode confidently back towards the group, very obviously holding her gaze on Spitelout.

"Now. Who's next?"

* * *

Astrid stumbled into the forge, shivering at the winter cold and appreciating the warmth flooding the smithy from the fire. Gobber was hammering a hunk of metal on his workbench, and he quickly looked up and spotted her.

"Ah, Astrid! How did your class go?" Gobber asked, cheery as always.

Astrid smiled. "It was actually pretty good. Spitelout was really ornery at first, but he came around. It took some work, but I paired him with a Monstrous Nightmare. He insisted that if he had to be friends with a dragon, it was going to be the biggest one he could find."

Gobber chuckled, "Oh, that sounds quite like him. I'm glad it was a success, lass. What brings you here?"

"I thought I would come help you out with some of the work you've got for the day, since Hiccup is…" Astrid stopped herself, pointing her eyes at the floor.

"Ah, it's okay, lass. You won't hurt my feelings with the truth." Gobber said. He scratched at the hairs growing from his cheek, giving him a winter shadow that he often took on in an attempt to help keep his face warm. "I went to see him again while you were out teaching," he added.

"Still no change?"

"No, but Gothi says it could be much worse than it is. He's practically healthy, the boy just doesn't want to wake up." Gobber said, "I think we ought to count our blessings."

"You're probably right. I just wish we knew what the problem was," Astrid lamented. She looked up at the hunk of metal on Gobber's table, curious, "What are you working on?"

"Oh, it's just a little prosthetic for Hiccup—at least it will be. Thought I'd get to work on it now." Gobber answered in his thick accent, "And then I suppose I need to get to work on a replacement tailfin for that Night Fury of his. You ought to go take a look in his room. The plans in there are really something else!"

Astrid took the cue, stalking over to the curtain cordoning off Hiccup's personal room at the smithy. She slipped inside with all the subtlety of a ghost. As promised, the wall was riddled with plans, although the room was significantly cleaner and more organized than it was the last time she'd been inside. Someone, most likely Gobber, must have cleaned it. Taking center stage on a huge parchment attached to the wall was a sketch of Toothless' prosthetic tail, complete with notes and measurements scrawled out in runes.

"The clues really were everywhere." Astrid snorted, stepping closer to the desk mounted against the wall. The desk was littered with detailed illustrations of Toothless in various poses. Hiccup's talent for drawing was truly incredible. It looked like he'd been drawing from memory.

Astrid noticed Hiccup's journal sitting on top of some of the papers. Curious, she opened it up, finding more drawings of Toothless as well as some old sketches of machines Hiccup had dreamt up. In addition, there was what appeared to be a roughly-sketched map that had been marred by dark scribbles of charcoal.

She flipped through page after page, curious as to what each one held. Some pages held journal entries, each one dated accordingly and filled from top to bottom with neatly-scrawled runes. Eventually, she flipped to a certain page in the journal, and it froze her in her tracks. Astrid raised the drawing up to her eye level, and she immediately got a creeping sensation that she was looking at something she'd never been meant to see.

It was a drawing of her.

It was a headshot, drawn from the neck up, and it looked fairly recent. The detail was astounding. Her bangs were perfectly drawn to cover the majority of one of her eyes, and a replication of her kransen bound her hair around her head. He'd drawn a picture-perfect smile on her face. It was like looking in a mirror. How Hiccup had been able to do this with nothing but charcoal, she would never understand.

The next page after that wasn't a drawing. Instead, it was a journal entry, made up of hastily-scribbled runes.

_Astrid found out today. I don't know how, but she tailed me from Berk to the cove and she found out about Toothless. And, somehow, I'm still alive. She was actually willing to listen to me, and on top of that she told me that she liked me. For the first time we really talked about our engagement._

_She said that she wanted to marry me, at least that's what I think she was saying. Obviously not for a while, but it's more than I'd ever thought I would hear from her. She actually likes me like that. I'm writing it down and I still can't believe it._

_I'm so happy I could scream. Toothless seems to like her, too. He did the fish thing with her, and it was pretty funny how disgusted she was. But she's come around. She's too scared to fly on him, but I think she believes me. I think she'll believe that dragons are good. For the first time, I'm starting to think I could end this war. I don't have a plan, but if I can change her mind, can't I change anyone else's?_

Astrid flipped to another page. Hiccup's familiar scrawl filled it from top to bottom as well.

_Dad's back._

_The expedition was a disaster, no surprise there. I don't know all the details, but it took them forever to sail back because the boats that made it out were so damaged and weighed down that they couldn't sail very fast. I think I heard something about them having to stop at Meathead Island for supplies, and that cost them a few extra days because of Chief Mogadon. Always one for a spectacle, weirdly enough._

_Is it terrible for me to say it was kind of better without him here? Now I feel like my every move is going to be watched. It's been so easy to get to Toothless because there's been no one around. All it'll take is one nosy Viking and the jig will be up._

_I'd rather not dwell on my dad, though. After my lovely talk with him in which he threw all of my lies back in my face, I took Astrid to see the Nadder we have in the arena. It's the same one that she injured a couple months back. I'm glad that she didn't kill her. I thought they got along really well. The Nadder got a little excited so she and Astrid got off to a rough start, but they smoothed things over. They're actually really similar. Brave, resilient… beautiful._

_I should probably get some sleep._

Astrid set the journal down, internally cursing as she felt her cheeks heat up. It occurred to her that she was really invading Hiccup's privacy right now. She flipped back to the drawing of her, admiring it once more, and then promptly closed the journal. Any longer, and she feared her heart might burst from her chest.

She kind of hated the feelings he was making her feel.

Astrid heard an irritated shout from outside the room, followed by a _thunk_ of something against the wall. Gobber half-snarled, half-screamed (which was apparently something that was possible). Astrid frowned and walked away from Hiccup's desk, tugging the curtain back so she could see outside.

When she stepped back into the main part of the smithy, she found that Gobber was trying to shoo a Terrible Terror out of the building. The miniature dragon swooped in circles, always avoiding a swipe of Gobber's broom.

"Dastardly little… bugger!" Gobber complained, taking another swing that missed spectacularly. The Terrible Terror landed on a support beam close to the roof, hissing teasingly at the blacksmith.

Gobber scowled, giving up. As he turned back to face his work again, he saw Astrid and nearly jumped out of his shoes. Gobber quickly became flustered, knowing that she had seen him and afraid that she would chastise him for swinging at a dragon. Funny how quickly things changed—Gobber the Belch was afraid of a teenager, and attacking a dragon was frowned upon.

"I… I wasn't…" Gobber stammered.

"It's fine, Gobber. I'll handle it for you." Astrid said. She padded over to stand beneath the Terror's new perch, clicking her tongue and snapping her fingers to get the small dragon's attention. She promptly grabbed a morsel of diced fish from a tray that Gobber had left out, ignoring the blacksmith's half-hearted protests. The Terror sniffed and swooped down, calmly landing on Astrid's shoulder without an ounce of fear. She fed the bit of fish to the small dragon, smiling and turning towards Gobber.

She gestured for Gobber to pet the dragon. Gobber immediately tensed up and shook his head, "No. I won' be doin' that."

"Oh, come on, Gobber, he's not going to bite."

"Tell tha' to my hand and leg!" Gobber replied.

"If this Terror bites off one of your fingers, I will happily make a prosthetic for you and clean the smithy for a week," Astrid wagered. Gobber raised an eyebrow.

"A month," the blacksmith countered.

"Deal." Astrid said instantly, and she carefully shifted her arm in a way that said, very sternly, _'__now come touch the dragon'._ Gobber warily stepped closer to Astrid and the Terror, garnering the small dragon's curious attention.

"Ah… hello, beastie." Gobber started, raising his remaining hand. The Terror blinked, black pupils as wide as they could be. Carefully, Gobber grazed his fingers over the small dragon's head. The Terror purred, submitting to Gobber's touch.

Gobber curiously ran his fingers down the Terror's back, brushing the spines protruding from its scales and its leathery wings. Each ministration dragged an appreciative purr out of the tiny dragon.

"How do they go from the violent beasties they were… to this?" Gobber said.

Astrid smiled. "I think the difference now is that they have a choice. The queen is gone, and so is her hold over them."

Gobber stopped petting the Terror, and the small dragon promptly flew off of Astrid's shoulder and out of the smithy, presumably to find another building to explore. Gobber watched it leave, amazed.

Astrid sighed and stepped up to the workbench, eyeing the rough plans that Gobber had made out for Hiccup's prosthetic leg. She was eager to help. "So… what were you thinking?"


	24. Back In the Air

**Here's a longer chapter for you guys, and it's fitting because it's the last one without Hiccup. Thanks again to everyone sending in awesome feedback, and I'd love it if you guys reviewed this chapter, too. Happy reading!**

* * *

**_24\. Back in the Air_**

"Keep your balance, Sven! Lean into the turns," Astrid instructed. The silent Berkian followed her tip, trying this time to keep himself steady and carefully lean to the left and right as he guided his dragon. Silent Sven had bonded with a spirited and loud Monstrous Nightmare (a rather humorous paradox, if Fishlegs did say so himself), but the large and quiet Viking had been having trouble with flying. For now, all flights were being contained inside the confines of the arena.

Silent Sven completed a successful lap around the inside perimeter of the arena and landed. Astrid beamed. "Great work, Sven! I think pretty soon we'll be able to take Hotblood out for a free flight."

Sven cracked a pleased smile, silent as always, and nodded. He dismounted his dragon, Hotblood, and led the Nightmare to a trough full of fish to feed it a treat as a reward.

Astrid examined her class. Silent Sven had become a mainstay in her lessons over the last few days, separating himself along with a few others as her most promising students. Phlegma the Fierce was also present with her Gronckle, Stoneskin. Helping out along with Fishlegs were Snotlout and the twins, and Astrid was grateful for the additional assistance.

Well, mostly.

"Yeah, it takes a lot of muscle to control a Monstrous Nightmare, but ya know…" Snotlout said, flirting with a girl about two years older than him, "I'm just that kind of guy. See?" Snotlout flexed, but he only earned a puzzled expression from the young woman.

"Snotlout, try to focus," Astrid chastised, "or I'll have Fishlegs relieve you." Snotlout relented and returned to actually helping the girl bond with the Terrible Terror that she had picked out.

Astrid walked over to where Fishlegs was helping a Viking with a Nadder with bright yellow scales. The Viking, a man named Scabskin, took a wet cod from Fishlegs and held it out to the dragon, who snapped it up appreciatively.

"Nice. Now, offer him your hand," Fishlegs instructed. Scabskin did as he was told and the Nadder curiously sniffed his hand before nuzzling its head into Scabskin's touch. The Viking brightened at the sensation.

Fishlegs absently glanced up and spotted Astrid watching them. She smiled and nodded in approval and then walked away, continuing to survey the class and assist anywhere she was needed.

Things were going fairly well. Word of her work had spread throughout the village, and Berk's population was becoming steadily more accepting of the dragons. More and more people were beginning to see the benefits that dragons had to offer with everyday life, and most of them were now endeavoring to help out with integration efforts wherever they could.

Unfortunately, her successes attracted the attention of Mildew.

"'_Ello, all. And what's going on in here?"_ the old man's voice rattled in from the gate, capturing everyone's attention. Astrid's ears began to burn with anger as Mildew strolled into the arena, a knot of the same fury forming in her stomach.

Mildew had remained as loud as he could be over the course of the week, railing against the council and their decision to integrate dragons to Berk. Everywhere he went, he spouted off about how it was plain to see that the dragons were preparing permanent residence on the island, and that Berk didn't have the resources to support them, among other things. He'd become ten times the nuisance that he'd ever been before.

"What are you doing here, Mildew?" said Phlegma the Fierce, hands on her hips.

Mildew planted his staff in front of him, holding onto it with both hands as the sun reflected off of the dragon teeth decorating it. "Come now, I'm merely interested in seeing the merit of our council's new ways," he claimed, gesturing to Phlegma and Silent Sven.

"Oh, is that so? And what sparks this transformation?" Phlegma said, unconvinced.

"Call it curiosity! I'm an old man, and I'm not gaining any ground resisting the council."

"So rather than remain on the losing side…" Phlegma accused, her voice trailing off. Mildew snarled at her, fists tightening around the neck of his staff.

"I've got this, Phlegma," Astrid said, calling off the warrior woman. She stepped in Mildew's direction and crossed her arms, appraising him with a cautious glance. It was stupid, what she was about to do. Mildew hated dragons, that was plain to see. But he had indeed fallen even more out of favor with the village in the past week.

Nobody on Berk actually _liked _Mildew, but the old man had a curious talent for rallying those that agreed with him. When there was a dispute and Mildew became involved, most of the tribe welcomed his input. It made the wretched old man a potentially dangerous enemy. So, as much as Astrid wanted to tell him to get lost, she decided it was the wiser decision to offer him the olive branch.

"You want to train a dragon? Fine. But you'll do _exactly_ as I say," Astrid stipulated.

"By all means, little girl. Show me," Mildew said, only partially condescending. Astrid resisted the urge to roll her eyes or bare her teeth and turned, waving Mildew along so that he would follow her. They approached a Gronckle with greenish scales. The round dragon appraised them both with a cautious look, particularly eyeing Mildew.

"Gronckles are a little different from other dragons. They'll eat fish just like the rest of them, but what they really love is to chew on rocks," Astrid explained. She stooped down and grabbed a fist-sized rock on the ground and handed it to Mildew.

Mildew promptly threw the rock at the Gronckle. The stone smacked against the Gronckle's head and the burly dragon recoiled, small wings extending at its sides so that it could hover away. The dragon landed a safe distance away and cast a contemptuous glare at Mildew.

"Mildew, what the Hel was that?" Astrid snapped, and the old man put his hands up in defense.

"Whaddyou mean, I was trying to feed it!" Mildew groused. Astrid rolled her eyes very obviously this time, and, knowing that the Gronckle would no longer be remotely interested in Mildew, directed him toward a Nadder.

"Give her a fish," Astrid instructed, _"Gently."_

Mildew grumbled something unintelligible in her direction and held up a cod from the feeding trough, allowing the Nadder to slurp it out of his hand. The birdlike dragon squawked in thanks and fluttered her wings.

"Now try to offer her your hand. She'll appreciate that you gave her a fish and may be interested in being friends," Astrid said. Mildew mused, as if he didn't quite believe her, and reluctantly extended his hand.

The Nadder took in Mildew's scent, sniffing at his hand warily. Something, whether it was the smell or something different, threw the Nadder off and she backed up, refusing Mildew's touch.

Mildew gritted his teeth, "You said that this would work, girl."

"Some dragons are naturally more reluctant than others. Look at her, she has a lot of scars along the side of her face, she's probably been attacked by humans more than her fair share of times," Astrid said, gesturing to the obvious markings lining the Nadder's head.

"Reluctant, my arse—listen to me!" Mildew lifted his staff and took a swing at the Nadder.

"Mildew!"

The Nadder dodged Mildew's swing and made an angry squawk, bristling. It snapped its tail in a low arc, sending three spines into the ground between it and Mildew as a warning. A few nearby dragons raised their voices in fear and Mildew's face twisted in rage, and he looked as if he were about to take another swing at the dragon when Astrid stepped in between him and the dragon.

Astrid held her arms out to the Nadder, voice soft and reassuring. "Hey, hey… it's okay, girl. I'm sorry. I won't let him hurt you."

"That's what you're worried about? The dragon? That monster could've killed me!" Mildew railed, stabbing a finger at the spines buried in the stone at his feet.

Astrid cast a violent glare at the old man, "Except she didn't. That was a warning shot, _Mildew. _I told you to do _exactly_ as I say, and you couldn't even do that. How would you react if someone took a swing at you?"

"It wouldn't listen to me, what was I supposed to do?"

"Treat her with _respect!"_

Mildew threw his hands in the air, "What a waste of my time, I tell you! I've said it before, and I'll say it again: dragons can_not _be trained!"

"You're not the only one whose time has been wasted," Astrid shot back, "as for whether or not dragons can be trained, take a look around, Mildew. Everyone in this arena would gladly tell you otherwise. I think it's time for you to leave."

"Good, because I was just leaving!" the old man snapped. He turned on his heel and walked toward the gates with the help of his staff, his old bones not doing him any favors. "You'll be hearing about this at the next council meeting, mark my words!" he shouted over his shoulder, and before long he was out of the arena and out of sight.

Astrid turned back to the Nadder, continuing to stroke her scales and calm her down. "I'm sorry that I let him come near you, that was my fault. We'll find you somebody who would never hurt you, okay?" Astrid cooed, and the scarred Nadder squawked in appreciation before wandering away and curling up on the ground to take a nap.

Phlegma the Fierce approached her as the dragon walked away, a frown on her face. "Forgive me, Astrid," Phlegma said, "I should've chased him off the minute he showed his face."

"No, don't blame yourself, Phlegma. I hoped I could prove Mildew wrong, that he might be able to turn over a new leaf."

Phlegma nodded. "I'm afraid there are just some minds out there that won't be changed. We have to deal with them every day, especially now."

Astrid shrugged, and she looked up at the rest of her class. Most of them were watching her intently, while a few others occupied their time by grooming their dragons. "I think this is a good time to dismiss for the day," Astrid said. "We'll meet back here tomorrow and work some more on flying. And don't forget to bring your friends if they don't have a dragon of their own yet." The rest of the class murmured in relative agreement and began to filter out of the arena.

Eventually, it was just Astrid and Stormfly. The Nadder approached her and nudged Astrid's shoulder, squawking affectionately.

"Hi, Stormfly," Astrid allowed herself a smile and started to scratch under the dragon's chin. Stormfly purred approvingly and extended her neck. Astrid offered a few more scratches and then dropped her hand.

"Alright, let's go get our chores done, girl," she said, and the dragon followed her out of the ring. Astrid closed up the arena and walked back to the village, the visage of the Haddock house appearing in the distance. The sight made her frown. A week after their return to Berk, and Hiccup was still out.

She really hoped he woke up soon. She wasn't sure how much longer she could do all of this without him.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set when she trudged up the hill to Hiccup's house, just like she did every single day now. She'd hoisted a large bag of fish over her back, more than strong enough to handle it. She shoved the front door open upon reaching it, half-stumbling into the house's welcoming warmth.

The door crashed closed behind her and she immediately looked toward the corner of the room, where a bed had been set up. Hiccup was silent, eyes closed and body unmoving with the exception of his chest rising and falling when he breathed.

No change. _Great._

Toothless looked up from his place at the foot of Hiccup's bed, cooing curiously at Astrid. The blonde warrior sighed and slogged over, dragging the basket along the floor now. Toothless carefully stood up and stretched his legs before waddling over toward her, and Astrid kicked the basket over so that it opened and spilled its contents on the floor.

"Have at it, Toothless." Astrid groaned. She walked past the dragon toward Hiccup's bedside, sliding into a lone chair that had been sitting to the right of the bed for nine days now. No one ever sat in it but her.

Astrid afforded the briefest glance at Toothless, who was helping himself to the king's ransom of fish. Quite noisily, she might add. She'd clean up the inevitable slobber in a minute. The poor Night Fury never did anything now but sit in this house, standing guard over Hiccup as the boy slept without end. It wasn't like he could do anything else, anyhow. His tailfin was missing again, so flying was out of the question.

"Mildew came by the arena today." Astrid said, turning her eyes on Hiccup's sleeping form. He breathed in, chest rising accordingly, and breathed out, but did nothing more. "Yeah, I know." Astrid answered the motion. She'd helped herself get through this part by imagining all of Hiccup's responses when she talked about her day, knowing him well enough now that she was fairly confident about the things he would say if he was actually awake.

Maybe she was going mad, talking to a sleeping boy who wouldn't wake up and acting like he was talking back.

"He said he wanted to try training a dragon. Then he took a swing at a Nadder when it wouldn't listen to him. I should've told him to get lost the minute he came in." Astrid explained.

Hiccup simply breathed again.

"You should see what Gobber's up to. He's building a new tail for Toothless." Astrid said. She glanced at the blankets, where she could clearly see one foot lifting the blankets up from within. On the other side, it was a little clunkier. Astrid couldn't see it, but she knew there was a sturdy hunk of metal where Hiccup's left leg used to be. It had been fastened on two days ago, with no response whatsoever from the heir to Berk. "I'm not exactly thrilled for you to wake up and find that your leg's gone. It's… going to be a big adjustment."

She eyed the red marks on his face, the fading signs of the minor burns he'd incurred during his fall into the flames. They'd been significantly less important injuries, far easier to deal with and far less life-threatening. Astrid gently lifted her hand to the boy's forehead, feeling for any sensation of undue warmth.

"Well, at least your fever hasn't come back. That's a positive."

That had been quite the scare. His temperature had risen to a fever the day she'd started holding dragon training, sending Astrid into a dreadful panic. She'd worked around the clock to make sure that the fever didn't progress, and after constant care for several days, he'd pulled through just yesterday.

The fever breaking had given Astrid hope that he was close to waking up, but just like in pretty much all things, he had proved her wrong. By now, he had begun to lose weight, which was amazing considering how little of it he'd had to begin with. Astrid regularly spoon-fed him liquid solutions that Gothi had provided, but those were really only keeping him from dying of starvation. The bones in his face looked just a bit more obvious now, and she was sure that his arms and legs were even skinnier.

And yet, Astrid still thought he looked handsome. She could see that goofy smile on him now, and it filled her stomach with butterflies. She wanted more than anything just to look into his green eyes, to see them staring back at her and melt away all of her troubles.

"I need you back, Hiccup. I need you to wake up." Astrid said, thankful that no one was around to hear her voice breaking. She clasped her warm hand with his, thankful that there was still some heat coming from him. She didn't know what she would do if his body ever went cold. "I can't do this alone… the training, the yelling, the changing. We need you… _I _need you. Don't tell anyone I said that."

Astrid's grip became iron-tough on his hand, as if her feelings could pass through their hands and rip him from his sleep so that she could have him again.

At that moment the door flung open and a huge figure thumped inside. A helmet with long horns was removed from the man's head and carefully left to rest on a hook by the door. Astrid would recognize Stoick the Vast anywhere. She quickly pulled her hand free from Hiccup's, silently cursing herself as she noticed that his arm wasn't in the same position as it had been before she'd grabbed him. When he was alone, his arms were always right by his side. Now, his left arm was at an errant angle, a casualty of her panicked pulling away. She promptly stood up and stepped over to the table, grabbing a mostly-clean rag. Toothless had finished his meal, which meant it was time for her to clean up the slobber that the dragon had left behind.

Stoick stepped past, eyeing his son and sighing. "Evening, Astrid…" he said, "How was training?"

"Up and down… I guess it could've been worse, though. I got Scabskin to bond with a Nadder, and Silent Sven made a breakthrough on flying his Nightmare. But Mildew decided to show up and ruin things." Astrid stooped down and began wiping. Fortunately, Toothless had eaten in one place, making things easy when it came to cleanup.

"Mildew?" Stoick asked, eyes narrowing.

Astrid nodded irritably and continued wiping down the floor, "Said he wanted to try training his own dragon. Then he got mad at a Nadder for not listening to him and tried to hit it. You can imagine how that went."

Stoick sighed, shaking his head. "If he continues to bother you, come to speak to me and I'll put a stop to it."

"I appreciate that, Stoick. Really."

Stoick nodded. "He's been increasing his pressure on the council. Before all of… _this…_" he gestured to the house at large, including Hiccup and Toothless, "we rarely had to deal with him. Everyone hated dragons just as much as he did. I suppose I should've seen him coming."

Astrid finished her task, biting back a wretch as she accidentally touched the part of the rag covered in slobber. Setting the dirty rag aside, she waded over towards her seat once again, slumping down into it and sighing.

"You should tell him to leave. If he can't live with dragons, he can live somewhere else."

"Aye, I'm getting close to doing just that. He doesn't provide much to the village beyond his annoyance, and I certainly wouldn't miss his cabbages." Stoick answered, "But that would open the door to him telling the other tribes about our new ways, and I'd rather not deal with their ire on top of all the change we're handling now. Save that for The Thing."

"I understand." Astrid admitted. She wasn't on the up and up as to Berk's relations with their neighbors, such as the Bog Burglars, the Berserkers, and more, but she wasn't stupid. They were all at war with dragons, just like Berk was. At least, just like Berk _used_ to be. Revealing their new way of life now could bring a heap of trouble upon their tribe.

"Rest assured, when the time is right, I will deal with Mildew. Until then, I'm afraid we will simply have to be vigilant." Stoick said. He stood from the chair he'd sat in, "Now, I'm off to bed. It's been a long day."

Stoick approached Hiccup from the other side of the bed, leaning down to kiss the top of the boy's head. "Good night, son. And good night to you, Astrid." Stoick said.

"G'night, Chief." Astrid said.

"Stoick," the Chief corrected her. Astrid smiled, and with a nod, Stoick began walking away toward his room. He got halfway across the common room before he stopped, turning his huge head halfway around so that he could eye Astrid from his peripheral vision.

"Oh, and Astrid? You don't need to quit holding his hand when I come in, you know." Stoick turned his head away, and Astrid's face turned beet red. Stoick sauntered off, surely grinning like mad, and disappeared behind his heavy bedroom door.

Astrid looked down at Hiccup, snapping her head to the side when she heard a light warble. Toothless was watching her with his mischievous eyes, clearly laughing at her.

"What are you looking at?" Astrid snapped, though her tone had no effect on Toothless. The Night Fury curled up at the foot of the bed again, setting his head down on the wooden planks and letting out a long, heavy exhale.

Again, Astrid looked at Hiccup. He continued to sleep, oblivious to the exchange around him. She grabbed his hand again and moved his arm back into its original place, and then surged up from her seat to leave. She paused before she could go three steps, turning back to look at Hiccup.

Before she knew it, she was planting a soft kiss on his cheek, feeling a furious blush rise to her cheeks as she pulled away. She tried to imagine how Hiccup might blush if he were awake, forcing herself to ignore the warmth sprouting in her own gut.

"Night, Hiccup."

With that, she quickly walked out of the house, refusing to look back out of sheer embarrassment.

* * *

It was another day on Berk, or at least another day of the new normal. Training had concluded for the day, sending Astrid on a slew of chores throughout the village. At the moment, she was helping carry materials to a nearby house. A couple of Gronckles had gotten into a scuffle and destroyed a house's fire prevention system. _Hiccup's_ fire prevention system, that is.

Mildew, predictably, had denounced the council, insisting that the incident exemplified the danger of dragons, but Stoick and the council had merely waved him off. There were going to be kinks and growing pains with their new way of life. The damage was an accident, they'd said, and one that could be fixed quite easily. Gobber had broken out Hiccup's plans for the contraption and repair was proving to be simple. Soon enough, the damages were fixed, and the village went on its merry way.

At noon, she headed up to the smithy to see Gobber, who had asked her to come by once the house was fixed. He'd said that he had something to show her.

Astrid promptly strolled through the town to the forge, hearing the familiar sounds of metal banging against metal. Gobber was even singing a Viking folk song, making sure to just butcher the carol's natural tune with an off-key voice. Hard at work, it seemed.

"Gobber?" Astrid called, getting no answer as she peered into the smithy. Gobber was hunched over an anvil, beating something with his hammer. "Gobber?"

The singing suddenly stopped and this time, Gobber looked up, his eyes brightening when he saw her. "Ah! Mornin', Astrid!"

"You wanted to see me?" Astrid asked.

"I did indeed!" Gobber declared, in a better mood than she'd seen him in days. He hefted the hunk of metal he was working on and carried it to the hearth, which was red-hot. After setting the metal there to smelt, he waved Astrid over. "I have a surprise for you, lass."

Gobber waddled over to another section of the forge, where a leather contraption was sitting on a tabletop. It was of a unique shape, rolled up and held together by a simple strap. Most Vikings around here would immediately wonder what exactly Gobber was keeping in his shop, but not Astrid. She'd seen Hiccup carry the same exact thing around with him… when it wasn't on Toothless' tail, that is.

"You finished the tailfin."

Astrid surged forward, beating Gobber to the table. She unfurled the prosthetic, scanning its design with delighted blue eyes. Gobber had chosen a red color, drawing an image of a skull with horns atop its head, a modernized version of a classic Viking symbol.

"Righty-o. It took a little longer than I expected, Thor knows Hiccup's hands are much better suited to this stuff, but it's done. There's a special pedal for Hiccup to control the fin with his new leg, but it can be done with the other pedal for people with regular legs." Gobber explained.

Astrid frowned at Gobber's phrasing, and the blacksmith caught on rather quickly. "I don't mean to say Hiccup is… lesser for having a prosthetic, lass. I mean, look at me."

"No, I…" Astrid rambled, "I know you didn't mean disrespect. It's the truth. It's just hard to think about it. How will he feel when he wakes up, and it's… gone?"

"I can't say, lass. Everyone reacts to it differently. But he is a strong boy. He will get through this." Gobber assured her, "It's not good for your health to worry about it. In the meantime, why don't you go see if Hiccup's beastie approves of the new fin?"

"That's a great idea. Maybe Toothless would even like to go for a flight if it suits him. He's cooped himself up by Hiccup's bed all this time." Astrid wondered. She wrapped her arms around the rolled-up tailfin and half-waved to Gobber. "Thanks for your help, Gobber. I'll let you know how it goes."

"Don't mention it, lass. Be careful up there." Gobber answered. Astrid headed out of the smithy, barely even halfway across the town square before she heard the telltale singing and the hammering of metal back inside.

The walk up to Hiccup's was short. She passed a few people on her way, and a few of them gave the contraption in her hands a strange look, but she paid them no mind. They didn't need to know what she was carrying.

She reached the house and pushed the front door open as she had done many times before. Toothless looked up from his place beside Hiccup's bed in the corner, almost too big for the room.

"Morning, Toothless. I hope your food is settled, because I got you a present." Astrid greeted. Intrigued, Toothless wandered over, eyeing the rolled-up contraption in Astrid's arms. The blonde met Toothless halfway and walked in a half-circle around him, suffering the Night Fury's curious eyes as she reached his wounded tail.

Astrid carefully unrolled the tailfin, and Toothless' interest increased tenfold. The Night Fury sniffed the air and scrambled in a fever. Astrid held her hand up and Toothless calmed, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he watched and waiting, excited eyes flicking back and forth between Astrid and the fin.

"I'm gonna put this thing on you, okay?" Astrid asked. Toothless flicked his tongue around his lips, cryptically communicating his acceptance. Astrid dropped down to one knee and went to work, finding it quite easy to strap the prosthetic tailfin on. Once it was latched on, she tugged the flap open, examining the size. It seemed to fit, at least.

"Well, that doesn't look so bad, huh?" Astrid asked the dragon. Toothless warbled and reached around as far as he could manage to sniff the prosthetic. "What do you think, Toothless?"

Toothless finished smelling the tailfin and snorted, straightening his body back out and licking his lips again.

"I'm going to take that as a stamp of approval." Astrid said, "I was thinking we could go flying—what do you think?"

Toothless looked at her again, this time studying her intently. Flying _did_ sound good… the Night Fury hadn't stretched his wings in almost two weeks.

But he wasn't keen to leave Hiccup alone.

"We can keep it short if you want, Toothless. I know you want to. And we'll go find Stoick or Fishlegs first and ask them to watch Hiccup for us." Astrid said, buttering up the dragon. Toothless looked from Astrid to Hiccup, then Hiccup to Astrid, and then again Astrid to Hiccup, weighing his options nonstop.

What was the worst that could happen with a few minutes of being away?

Toothless followed Astrid out of the house, exiting through the front door and ending up on the hill. Berk bustled with activity, dragons and Vikings hurrying back and forth on various errands. Astrid turned back to Toothless and tried to mount the Night Fury's back. It was the same concept as mounting Stormfly, sure, but it turned out to be a little different. Toothless was both smaller and longer, in fact. After a few moments of figuring things out, though, Astrid was on, nestled comfortably in the dragon's replacement saddle.

She fumbled her feet around to find the pedal that would control the tailfin, snugly fitting her foot inside the stirrup. With a turn of her foot, the tailfin reacted, opening and then quickly closing as Astrid turned her foot forward. Toothless shook, loosening up for the flight.

Astrid turned and watched the stages of the tailfin with each shift of the pedal, quickly memorizing the different positions. "Okay, I think I've got it."

"Morning, Astrid. What exactly do we have here?"

Astrid looked up and found Stoick walking up the hill towards them. This was probably the last thing he'd expected to see, Astrid getting ready to take to the air on the back of his son's Night Fury, but somehow, he didn't seem surprised. Considering all of the new changes in Berk over the last two weeks, this was probably child's play.

"Oh, morning, Chief. Gobber finished up Toothless' new tailfin, and I convinced this little monster to go for a flight and get some exercise." Astrid said with a big smile on his face.

"That sounds like a good idea. He must surely be tired of being stuck on the ground." Stoick said, "But, I'm guessing that leaves Hiccup all by himself inside the house? Toothless is always watching him, no?" Stoick asked.

"Right—we were going to come find you before we left, Chief."

Stoick held up a hand, "Don't fret, Astrid. I'll sit with Hiccup until you return. I need a break, anyway."

"Thank you, Chief. We won't be gone long, I promise." Astrid offered.

"Don't concern yourself with time, just go enjoy yourselves." Stoick insisted.

The Chief promptly disappeared into the house. Astrid half-frowned at Stoick's pleasant demeanor. This was probably the first time his new normal had really stuck out to her. Just a few weeks ago, he would've been mortified at every single action she was currently undertaking. Her exact position right now was extreme treason not very long ago and it probably would have cost her head.

How the times had changed.

"Alright, whenever you're ready, Toothless!" Astrid said, opening the tailfin with a shift of the pedal. Toothless warbled and instantly rocketed off the ground, repeatedly flapping his long wings to gain speed. A scream slipped from Astrid's lips and the dragon spun, stretching his black wings as far as they could go. The sky churned in Astrid's vision and she shut her eyes, welcoming the darkness until she felt Toothless level off.

Toothless hummed appreciatively, pumping his wings much more slowly as he began to glide on the air currents.

"That never gets old to you, does it?" Astrid asked, flustered and breathing hard.

Toothless warbled happily.

Astrid altered the tailfin and leaned into a few gentle turns. A tuft of cloud crossed their path and Toothless buried his head through it, disintegrating the fluff where it stood. Astrid slipped out a short laugh and they turned some more, never straying too far from Berk. It was another strangely beautiful day, not at all what she'd grown used to during wintertime.

Astrid glanced down at the sea, remembering how afraid she'd been the first time Hiccup put her on this dragon's back. Now, she felt no semblance of distress. This was what she was made for, even if Toothless wasn't exactly the _dragon_ she was made for. She was made to be in the air, an axe on her back and the tender warmth of a dragon beneath her, and close at her side when she was on the ground.

How she had gone so long thirsting for dragon blood was now beyond her.

Just seeing the ocean from this high up strengthened her resolve to do right by Berk. She'd work her hardest for the change that her home was experiencing, and make sure that it lasted forever, because every man, woman, and child deserved the chance to experience something like this.

Toothless mumbled at Astrid, noticing how far away she seemed. Called back to earth, Astrid blinked a few times and smiled. "Sorry, Toothless. Just thinking."

Astrid placed her hands on the two handholds at the front of the saddle, knowing she'd need them for this next trick. "Whaddya say we go for a dive, Toothless?"

Toothless warbled excitedly, and Astrid turned the pedal to narrow the tailfin. She pushed down on the saddle, guiding Toothless into tilting downward. The wind whipped up in Astrid's ears and sang as they started to fall, increasing to a roar as they dropped further and further. The braid behind Astrid's head flew behind her like a tail.

"Yeah! Go, baby!" Astrid hollered. Her voice was lost to the wind as she whooped. Toothless opened his mouth as they went, tongue lolling about. Before they could hit the water, Astrid changed the pedal's position and the tailfin opened up, allowing Toothless to pull up. The Night Fury unfurled his wings and flew along the surface of the sea, mere inches from the surf.

Curious, Astrid leaned and dipped her fingertips into the water. The sea broke where she touched it and sprayed, sending a riptide of cold brine behind her. Thrilled, Astrid grinned, and Toothless continued. They passed a few Thunderdrums swimming underwater, and as they approached the sea stacks Astrid spotted several Terrible Terrors gliding back and forth.

This was their world now.

Toothless veered away from the sea stacks with a sharp turn, Astrid leaning into it like a seasoned pro. Pleased, Toothless warbled.

Then, the Night Fury decided to shoot a fireball up ahead of them. The blue pulse exploded in the distance, rippling out toward them as they sliced through the sky.

"Oh, no!" Astrid yelped. She ducked and jerked Toothless in another direction, forcing the dragon to fly to the right and out of the blast's range. Toothless _laughed._

"Hiccup might let you get away with that…" Astrid sighed, "But I'm not Hiccup, smarty-pants."

Toothless seemed unfazed. Astrid suspected that the dragon found no semblance of a threat in her words. Either way, he didn't try the stunt again, and soon they were landing back on Berk in front of Hiccup's house.

Once Toothless was safely on the ground, Astrid swung off of his back and guided the dragon inside, finding Stoick seated in a chair by Hiccup's bed. The mountainous, red-headed Viking promptly stood when they entered, appraising Astrid with a curt nod.

Once she returned Toothless to Hiccup's bedside, Astrid quickly detached the prosthetic, rolling it up and securing it before placing it on a nearby table. She noticed that Stoick hadn't said a word and turned in his direction.

"Did you have a nice time?" Stoick asked her, a warm smile on his face.

Astrid nodded. "It was just what I needed. What we both needed, I think."

"I appreciate all of your help, Astrid."

"It's no trouble, Chief."

"Stoick," he insisted. They were speaking privately, and he hated the formality of his title when he was involved in a personal conversation.

"Stoick," Astrid corrected herself once again, "It's no trouble."

"Yet still I appreciate it. Everything that you have done has been above and beyond." Stoick replied. They fell silent again for a few moments, and Stoick gestured to Hiccup. "Gothi came by while you were out. For his check-up."

Astrid felt her heart seize. "And?"

"She's confident he will wake up soon."

A shaky breath escaped Astrid. She glanced at the sleeping boy in the bed, watching his chest steadily rise and fall as it had been doing for two weeks now. The prospect of him being awake, of just being able to look into his open eyes again, was enough to shake her foundation and tug at the tightly-wound strings of her heart.

"I hope she's right."

* * *

The next morning came, and with it, Astrid's chores. She led morning dragon training, completed her household chores, and after grabbing a sack full of assorted fish from the fishery, she headed up to Hiccup's to feed Toothless.

Sunlight fell upon her face as she exited the fishery. A chilly winter breeze blew through town, but the sky was almost completely clear of clouds. Astrid wondered how long it would be before the bad weather set in, they'd been going through an almost unprecedented stretch of decent winter weather. It was still below freezing, of course, but considering what she was used to during wintertime, this was quite pleasant.

Astrid walked up the ramp leading her away from the docks and the fishery, the wooden floors giving way to slowly-dying grass and dirt pathways. Dragons flitted through the sky, chittering and roaring as they flapped their powerful wings. The walk from the docks to the Haddock house was short, what with both locations being on the same side of the village. Soon, the familiar hill stretched in front of her, and she walked up the pass.

She was more than halfway up the hill when she heard a crash from inside. Considering the new activity of late, it didn't worry her. Toothless had probably just heard her coming up—it had happened before.

She made the last few strides to the top of the hill and leaned into the door, pushing it open and turning to close it so that her back was to Toothless.

"Morning, Toothless. I hope you liked what I brought today; some salmon from down south, halibut, some nice Icelandic cod, maybe a couple of—"

Astrid turned as the door shut behind her, and promptly froze in her tracks. Toothless was sitting straight up beside the bed, but it wasn't the dragon that was giving Astrid pause.

The sack of fish slipped from Astrid's grasp, thumping to the floor and tipping over to spill its contents. Sitting up in the bed was a skinny boy, eyes as green as emeralds and a full head of dark auburn hair.

Astrid uttered the boy's name; her head clearer than it had been in weeks.

"Hiccup?"

* * *

**I knew for a long time that I wanted to write a flying scene with Toothless and Astrid. Did I do a good job? It feels really short but I liked it so I left it in. Obvious parallels to Hiccup's test drive are obvious.**

**So, one more chapter plus the epilogue. I'm thinking I'll take an extra week off before posting the epilogue, so that I can clean it up and maybe add to it. I want it to be special. Hats off to you guys for encouraging me to post this whole little story, and I hope you've enjoyed things thus far half as much as I enjoyed writing it. Y'all rock. See you next week.**


	25. Out of the Ashes

**Short ish chapter, but I like it. You guys can probably figure out on your own where this one is going. It's the end of the movie, after all. But I wrote my own version of the wake-up scene and the final scene and I hope you guys enjoy it. I enjoyed writing it, so all I ask is that you guys enjoy reading it half as much. Don't forget to leave a review at the bottom, and maybe take a look back on the whole story when you do! I want to know what people thought of this story as a whole.**

* * *

_**25\. Out of the Ashes**_

For a while, he saw only darkness, suffering fleeting intervals of wakefulness while he slept; brief, blurred moments of incoherency quickly followed by more painful darkness. Dreams, he thought. Some of them were, anyway. In most of them, he recalled a young woman with long, braided blonde hair and a man sporting a full red beard, each standing over him in many of those particular visions. Sometimes there was a portly man with a crooked smile, though the happiness that Hiccup had often found in the man's eyes was distinctly gone, replaced now with only worry. Almost always, those few blurry seconds coincided with a fullness in his throat and something on his lips.

He knew that each figure was someone he cared deeply about. The woman in particular radiated such a warmth in those semi-conscious moments that leaving her behind sent a shooting pain into his chest before he was quickly claimed by unwanted sleep. On occasion, he sat through visions of darkness, visited by a slightly older young woman that was without a doubt her, fuller and more enchanting in every way. She'd visit him and whisper words of tender affection, a longing that made his heart seize and his mind beg to just be saved from this torment.

In others, he'd envision the large man with the beard sitting at a fire, suffering muted sobs and muttering something about another year gone without his son. Unlike the dreams with the woman, he apparently wasn't involved in this dream. The woman came to him, singing to him and tending to him and kissing him and whispering sweet nothings as she asked him to come to her. The man never even looked at him, never seemed to know he was there. And in others still, the man with the twisty blonde beard would stand alone in a small room with walls covered in parchments, gazing at each of them and occasionally looking at some with intense sorrow.

When he found himself in that black room, he was always wishing—_hoping—_that the woman would come see him and make his blood pump and his heart soar. Only those dreams brought him any semblance of happiness. More than anything, though, he wanted to understand, but his mind was so constantly addled that he could never determine if those passing moments were real or if they were torturous fever dreams.

Maybe he was dead. Maybe the visions were just that, snippets of misery spawned by the soul trying to comprehend its end while he was taken to the land of the dead. Or maybe they were glimpses into the future, one that he wasn't a part of.

Eventually, after so many of those awful dreams, he woke.

The space where his eyes should've been hurt, dry and aching from being glued shut for Odin knows how long. Bits of light harassed the blackness in his vision. Feeling returned to his eyelids next, allowing him to open them tentatively. He winced as air stung his eyeballs, but the darkness steadily gave way to color all the same.

Unexpectedly, the first thing he registered seeing was… also black. Green eyes and a warble filled his vision and his ears, the shape in his gaze wriggling with pent-up enthusiasm.

"Toothless?" Hiccup murmured.

The Night Fury excitedly nudged him, burying his head in the boy's small chest. Sensation returned to his body in a sudden rush and Hiccup beamed, lips tugging stiffly into a grin, "Hey, bud. Hey! I'm happy to see you, too." A small laugh escaped him, making him feel impossibly light for a moment.

Too thrilled to be careful, Toothless half-climbed onto the bed, unexpectedly burying his heavy foot into Hiccup's skinny stomach. Hiccup shot up, an agonized groan spilling from his throat as he clutched at his belly.

"Ow!" Hiccup grimaced. The ache went away as quickly as it came, and he looked up to take in his surroundings. Everything came back to him at once—the mission, the battle… the fall.

How was he here?

"Uh, I'm… in my house." Hiccup stated the obvious, so terribly confused. He realized with a pang that Toothless was with him, _"You're_ in my house. Does my dad know you're here?"

As if the fact was a wonderful thing, Toothless bounded around, leaping up onto a couple of support beams and knocking down a tray of dishware with a cacophonous crash. The Night Fury looked nonchalantly at the fallen dishes and then leaped back up onto another beam without the slightest hint of concern, simply thrilled beyond explanation that his boy was alive and well.

"Toothless, come on." Hiccup sighed. The dragon stopped and dropped down from the beam, stepping over with concern. It started to alarm Hiccup. What could possibly be the matter?

The front door suddenly opened, drawing both his and Toothless' attention. A slim, feminine figure slid inside; a heavy sack of fish hefted over her back. An intricate blonde braid stared him in the face as the newcomer went to close the door, back turned to him.

"Morning, Toothless. I hope you like what I brought today; some salmon from down south, halibut, some nice Icelandic cod, maybe a couple of…"

Astrid turned to face him and immediately dropped the sack full of fish on the floor. Her bright blue eyes went wide, disbelieving, as her blonde bangs draped across her face.

"Hiccup?"

"Astrid?" Hiccup murmured, still groggy. He recalled those fuzzy, painful fever dreams, and realized that he had in fact been partially awake, a throe of involuntary consciousness. He was glad to see her now. She looked windblown, and her cheeks had been stung by a red color from cold morning wind. She was as beautiful as ever.

"You're awake," Astrid said. A jubilant tear fell from her right eye and she repeated herself, "You're awake." She crossed the room in what seemed like only a few quick steps, suddenly smothering him in a tight hug, and Hiccup sucked in a breath as she did so. "I didn't know if you were going to wake up for real or if you were going to die. But you're here."

Hiccup raised his bony arms up to reciprocate, and he gulped as he felt her racing heartbeat. Or maybe that was his own. Maybe it was both of theirs. "How… how long was I out?"

"Two weeks and a day," Astrid answered automatically. She'd been counting. "It's almost Snoggletog."

Hiccup flinched at the revelation. He'd lost over two weeks of his life, a black spot on the calendar of his memories. "Well, let no one say I'm not punctual," he muttered flatly.

Astrid snickered, realizing how much she'd missed his sarcastic wit. How much she'd feared that she'd never get to hear it again. She untangled her arms from around him, pulling back so she could meet his eyes.

"What do you remember?"

Hiccup grimaced, blinking intermittently as he dug through his hazy memory. He squinted at seemingly nothing, visibly struggling to fill in the gaps.

"I think I remember being here. I'm starting to think that I wasn't really all there when I was." Hiccup murmured.

"There were a couple of times where you were only partially awake. The first time was pretty scary, we thought you were going into shock. But after that it usually just happened when we tried to feed you." Astrid explained.

"Oh." Hiccup nodded. He thought harder and a particularly important memory flashed across his mind. For an instant, he was back on the island, turning Toothless around to spit a ball of plasma into the queen dragon's mouth, igniting the gas stirring within. Suddenly he could still feel the wind howling in his ears, and the queen's furious roar as she chased after them echoed in his head.

"We killed the queen."

Astrid smiled. "Yeah. We did."

Hiccup suddenly stiffened, hearing the sickening _crunch _of the queen's tail meeting Stormfly's wing and shattering it. He sucked in a sharp, panicked breath, "Oh, Stormfly! Is she alright? That wing of hers looked pretty bad, and—"

"She's fine, Hiccup," Astrid half-laughed, touched. "She's healing nicely. The queen might've killed us both if not for you and Toothless, though."

"I remember…" Hiccup said, "Toothless got the dragons from the ring to keep her off of us." There was also that other thing that happened, the memory rushing back to Hiccup with a jolt. His eyes flicked to Astrid's lips, his own tingling at the sight as he recalled the sensation of her lips on his. He forced himself to peel his gaze away from them.

He didn't want to bring that up just yet. Astrid hadn't mentioned it… did she even want to speak about it? What if she had regretted it? He knew he hadn't. He shifted uncomfortably under the blankets, and his legs barely grazed against each other. The thing was, he couldn't feel the left one.

Hiccup's brow furrowed, knitting together in confusion as he looked down at the blankets. "Hm. I think my foot's asleep." These things happened. He had been asleep for more than two weeks, after all, he supposed it made some sense that some parts of his body hadn't quite woken up yet.

Astrid's reaction was not at all what he expected. She tensed up and tentatively reached out one hand as if to stop him. "Hiccup, wait—"

But he was already moving. Hiccup gently lifted the blankets, prepared to swing his legs off of the bed and to the ground. What he saw, though, froze him in his tracks.

Astrid went white as a sheet. Toothless warbled and took another step closer, black pupils rounding in the dragon's deep green eyes.

Slowly, Hiccup dragged his legs off of the bed, carefully setting them down on the floor below. He held onto the hope that he was just seeing things, that suddenly coming out of a long and unplanned sleep was just playing tricks on his mind.

His right foot was bare, looking healthy as ever, or at least as healthy as could be expected after he'd sat in a coma for two weeks and shed a few pounds. The left foot, though, clinked as it met the wood floor, an attachment made of metal now taking the place of his foot and part of his lower leg.

When it didn't go away and reshape itself into his regular foot, Hiccup looked up at Astrid and Toothless, his breathing picking up as he tried to make sense of… well, everything.

"Hiccup, I…" Astrid started, but he cut her off.

"I don't understand," he trembled, looking back down at the prosthetic. He tried to slow his breathing—he did not need to hyperventilate right now—but the task was proving to be harder than he would've liked. His vision began to blur just a bit, details becoming grainy and head growing woozy.

Astrid's hand on his shoulder seemed to save him. She squeezed, leaning her head down to meet his eyes, and Hiccup steadied. Astrid frowned, saddened. She wished that there had been another way.

"They don't really know what happened. But it had to come off. The bones were crushed, and there was so much blood. If they didn't take it, you would've never walked again. And that would be if you even survived infection," Astrid explained. She stepped forward and sat down on the bed beside him, holding her gentle hand on his shoulder. Hiccup stared straight ahead, carefully shutting his eyes and breathing as slowly as he could.

"Toothless saved your life. Without what he did, you wouldn't be here now."

"I know, I know." Hiccup nodded feverishly, knowing that she was right and accepting it but still struggling to come to terms with the fact that his _foot_ was _gone._

He took several minutes, and when he was ready to speak again, his breaths were lighter.

"I guess I'm just like Toothless now." Hiccup said, a small smile appearing on his face. "It's fitting, right, bud?"

Toothless lumbered over and Hiccup placed a loving hand on the dragon's head. A warm breath escaped the Night Fury, pleased that his human was alright.

A brief silence fell over the three of them. Astrid examined Hiccup from the side, relieved that he seemed to be taking the news well. A smile came to her face as she wondered next how he'd take the news about Berk, about how it had changed and was continuing to change. There was so much for him to see.

Hiccup realized Astrid was watching him and turned his head, looking into her blue eyes longingly. Her chest tightened and she internally grimaced. Just his gaze tugged at her chest and sent a tingle down her spine. She kind of hated it.

So, she punched him. _Hard._

"_Ow!"_ he complained, hand shooting up to hold his arm where she'd slugged him. "Why?" he grimaced, annoyed.

"That's for taking a nap for two weeks," Astrid scolded. Hiccup sighed.

"What, is it always going to be this way? Because, you know, I was thinking after what—"

Astrid snatched a fistful of his tunic and dragged him toward her, the memory of their kiss during the battle guiding her forward. A slight gasp of surprise slipped from him, and she kissed him, right on the lips. It was a simple, closed-mouth kiss, just like the one back on Dragon Island, but it filled her with all of the same warmth as their last one.

When she pulled away, they froze at the sight of each other. Astrid held the fistful of his tunic in her hand and smiled sheepishly, both embarrassed and thrilled. She glanced at her hand and her embarrassment spiked, so she released her hold on his shirt. As her hand fell back down to her side, Hiccup murmured, "What was that for?"

"I'll let you figure that one out for yourself," Astrid decided, a tiny smile tugging at her lips again.

"I could get used to it," Hiccup admitted. Toothless snorted and looked away, embarrassed for his human.

"Hey. There's something else you need to see." Astrid said. She surged up, standing and reaching her hand down to Hiccup.

Hiccup cast a nervous look to his prosthetic. He was all too aware that people struggled with prosthetics the first time, and generally the next several times after that. There were so many variables; whether or not the measurements were right, the size and weight of the owner, and as a result how well the attachment would support that weight. The odds that his prosthetic was perfect was, frankly, exceedingly low.

"We'll go slow." Astrid said, practically reading his mind. Hiccup looked up into her eyes again, and an unexplainable feeling of strength rushed into him. "Small steps. And you've got us to catch you if you fall." Astrid added, gesturing to Toothless. The Night Fury warbled agreeably from her side.

Hiccup needed no further encouraging. He reached up and clasped his hand in Astrid's, using both her pull and his own push to stand. Immediately, his legs wobbled and he nearly fell, but Astrid was there to keep him from doing so. He smiled and followed her guidance, stepping forward with his whole leg first.

His prosthetic leg came next, a tentative step forward at best. He managed to hold steady and, emboldened, took another two steps. His second step forward with the prosthetic leg failed and his leg gave out.

Toothless ducked, reaching his head underneath him to catch and break his fall. "Thanks, bud," Hiccup heaved. Astrid wrapped her left arm around him, holding him more steadily, and they continued, carefully crossing the room. With each step, he grew more confident and steadier, though he definitely still needed Astrid and Toothless' help to stay upright.

That was okay, though. He had them both to keep him from falling, in all things.

"I'll get the door," Astrid said as they neared it. She stepped out in front, careful to keep one hand on Hiccup out of caution as she pulled the door open.

A Monstrous Nightmare roared from the other side.

"Ah!" Hiccup half-yelled. He recoiled and shielded his eyes, unable to slam the door shut himself.

"_C'mon, guys, are you ready?"_ Snotlout's voice called. Confused, Hiccup looked back up to find Snotlout on the Nightmare's back. He hadn't noticed them, shouting instead at others that Hiccup couldn't see.

"_All right, hold on tight, let's go!"_

Snotlout zoomed off, and three Vikings followed him on the backs of other dragons. Stunned, Hiccup half-scrambled forward to see if he wasn't just seeing things. He nearly lost his footing, but once again Astrid caught him.

"I've got you."

"Thanks," he answered. He looked back up after the dragons, spotting Snotlout leading them and their riders out to sea. Below them, dragons and Vikings walked side by side throughout the village, no weapons drawn and no fire flickering in the reptiles' throats. "I knew it. I'm dead." Hiccup said, "Completely, totally dead."

An uproarious laugh came from the right, and no sooner had Hiccup and Astrid looked over had a massive hand curled around Hiccup's shoulders. "No, but you gave it your best shot."

Stoick looked down at Hiccup, a big, proud smile on his face. Astrid let go of Hiccup and Stoick replaced her, wrapping his son in a suffocating hug. "My boy."

Hiccup wheezed. "Dad…! Can't…! You're crushing me!"

Stoick released him and laughed. "I never doubted for a moment you'd come back to us." Stoick turned his gaze to the village at large and gestured, "What do you think?"

Hiccup looked back to the village, marveling. "It's… it's incredible. But…" Hiccup trailed off and he turned to Astrid, suddenly grinning from ear to ear. "You did this."

"It wasn't just me." Astrid said, smiling.

"But it was. I've been out for weeks, and… you… you…" Hiccup trailed off, at a loss for words. He wanted to just reach forward and kiss her. Could he do that? That wasn't too far, right? After all, she'd started it.

Before he could get the idea to actually try it, someone shouted from the bottom of the hill.

"_Hey, look! It's Hiccup!"_

"_Hiccup's awake!"_

A roar went up through the village and Vikings of all shapes, sizes, and ages sprinted all at once up the hill to the Chief's house. Stoick chuckled and the people formed a half-circle around them.

"It turns out, all we really needed was a bit more of… _this._" Stoick said, waving his huge hands at Hiccup.

Hiccup frowned, "But you just gestured to all of me."

Stoick nodded, amused. That _had_ been the point.

"Well, most of ya!" Gobber interjected, shuffling through the crowd to meet Hiccup. A leather-bound object was wrapped in his arms. He pointed at the prosthetic replacing Hiccup's foot. "That bit there's my handiwork, with a little Hiccup flair thrown in! Think it'll do?"

Hiccup looked down at the prosthetic, already dreaming up plans for improvements. "I might make a few tweaks."

Laughter rippled through the crowd. Gobber chuckled and offered the rolled-up contraption in his arms. "This is for you—welcome home, lad."

Hiccup caught the rebuilt tailfin, knowing immediately what the device was. Astrid peered in, grinning.

"Want to try it out?" she asked.

Hiccup beamed—as if she even had to ask.

The hill was soon cleared, the duties of the day taking ultimate precedence over Hiccup's return. But for the teens, there were no such tasks weighing them down. With Astrid's assistance, Hiccup attached the tailfin for Toothless and connected the rigging and pedal system for his prosthetic foot. Gobber had thought of everything.

When the contraption was set, Astrid leaped onto Toothless' back behind him. Hiccup slid his foot into the catch and cranked the revamped pedal. The red tailfin extended, revealing the scrawled Viking image on its end in all its glory.

Together, they took off, sweeping through the village. Hiccup dragged his prosthetic forward to change the tailfin's position, hearing a telltale click with each move. It all came easy, like he'd never left. Fishlegs appeared from one of the bridges in town on the back of his Gronckle, and they were closely followed by the twins and Snotlout. The town seemed to fill with the cries of the next generation, the one that had made all this change possible.

Hiccup pressed his knee into Toothless' side and he and Astrid leaned into a turn, sending Toothless looping around a catapult tower. There was a rumble and Snotlout cruised up beside them, looking proud and boisterous on the back of his Monstrous Nightmare.

"How about a race?" he shouted over the wind, flashing that cocky Jorgenson smile.

Hiccup looked up ahead and then back at Astrid. She nodded with a smile that screamed _bring it on_, and Hiccup pointed toward the Guardians, the stone statues standing watch in the distance and marking Berk's territory.

"We'll give you a head start!" Astrid chirped. Snotlout guffawed and spurred the Nightmare forward, guiding it out to sea. The large dragon flapped its leathery wings repeatedly, a roar echoing over the water.

"Ready to leave him behind?" Hiccup asked her, and Astrid wrapped her arms around him to hold herself steady.

"Do it," she insisted. Hiccup leaned forward and opened the tailfin completely, and Toothless took off after Snotlout.

Snotlout and his Nightmare rapidly grew in size as they gave chase, the Night Fury quickly catching and overtaking the pair.

"_Woo! Yeah, baby!"_ she heard him holler. They blazed between the Guardians well ahead of Snotlout and the Nightmare, pulling off an acrobatic loop to curve around the statues and set their sights on the island. Hiccup steered Toothless around and they flew back to Berk, passing Snotlout again on the way. The boisterous teen howled something about the race not being fair, and they left him behind and started to pass over the village. They passed over Astrid's house, and Stormfly squawked excitedly from her stable, still confined to the ground by her injured wing but happy, nonetheless.

Astrid beamed, and gazed upon the boy in front of her.

'Hiccup the Useless' had proven his worth, unconventional as it might've been. He'd gone against every Viking code in the book, sparing a dragon that _he_ had shot down himself, and a Night Fury at that. He hadn't stopped there, either, going so far as to break the boundary between man and dragon and create a friend for life out of a beast. He'd brought fearless Astrid Hofferson into his new fold, showing the most hardened of his peers the truth. And though it hadn't all gone according to plan, together they'd shown their people the truth as well, and the new way of peace to go with it.

Above all, he had managed to win her heart. Cold, brutal, warrior-princess Astrid Hofferson. The shy boy from the forge had grown into the brave boy on the dragon, and she'd grown into someone capable of love.

Not long ago, he had wanted to leave. To turn his back on Berk and his face to the sky and never return, seeing what the world had to offer that was better. He'd spent a lifetime being labeled a disappointment and getting scorned for his quirks and failures. She was not innocent of harboring those same feelings upon a time. With everything that had happened with Toothless, he had thought—and rightfully so—that he would never fit in. That _they _would never fit in.

But things were changing now. Thanks to him, Berk had become dragon folk. He now belonged with the dragons, with Berk, and with her.

There were problems ahead, sure. The other tribes would soon hear about Berk's new ways, and none of them would be particularly happy about it. In addition, the influx of dragons to Berk would present some issues. They also still needed to complete housing and feeding arrangements for the dragons, as the winter snows were coming. Right now, Berk was only so large. The integration would be challenging.

But these problems, despite just being a few of many, were hardly concerning to them as they flew over the forest and back towards the village. Hiccup and Astrid were just two teenagers. The responsibilities that befell their adult tribesmen, that would befall _them_ one day, were still too distant to trouble them.

For now, their focus was on the thrill of the air. For now, the road ahead was one leading to a new dawn for Berk.

Come what may, Astrid resolved. They were willing to fly down this road. Because with Vikings on the backs of dragons, the world had just gotten a whole lot bigger.

* * *

**So, except for the epilogue, that's it! Wow. You guys are awesome, you know that? I only posted this story because of The Hidden World making me think nonstop about it. I made a lot of edits and additions that added around 20,000 words to the length of this story, and I do believe they were for the best.**

**I'm going to post the epilogue in about 2 weeks. I want to really work on it and make it long and good and a fitting end to the story that we started.**

**I know that I'm going to get questions about a sequel. The answer to those questions... well, it's slightly complicated? Put simply, I _want _to write a sequel, and I have been writing some rough drafts of a couple of chapters and brainstorming what the plot would be, because I want the journey to be significantly different from movie content. I would skip ahead to the HTTYD2 time. It's all in the first draft stage right now, and as Ernest Hemingway once said, "the first draft of anything is shit" or something like that. So if I commit to a sequel, it will be a while before anything gets posted. I will first and foremost finish the story (or at least get very far into it and know exactly where I'm going to go with it) before posting anything.**

**I also would be interested in doing a one-shot series for the Bound continuity. Thing is, I'm going to need y'all's help for it. If you're interested in seeing such a thing, PLEASE PLEASE send me a prompt idea. It can be anything (non-adult, though. That's my one reservation. I don't feel like writing smut, there's plenty of it out there in this fandom and most of it is going to be better than anything I can produce). If you send me a prompt, I'll explore it and try to do the best that I can, and hopefully post it.**

**That's all from me. I'll see you guys again in 2 weeks with the epilogue, and that'll be the end! Special thanks to everyone who has followed, faved, and reviewed these last couple of months. You guys rock. I'm out of here like Toothless for his date with the Light Fury. - OP17**


	26. Epilogue: Bound

**I'm back! Some reviewers here and there have said that they didn't think I touched on the engagement as much as I could have, and I have to say that they're right. Which is why this entire epilogue is dedicated to fulfilling the contract that started us off on this story.**

**Yup, it's wedding time. It's been a couple of years for these characters, because I just can't see them tying the knot at 15 years old or anything close to that. I hope you guys like what I wrote up. I mixed my best interpretation of Viking traditions with my own personal touches. What I mean is, plenty of stories have written weddings between these two and they did much more research than me, so I'm not going to try and compete with that. Call it an Americanized Norse wedding, I guess.**

**BEFORE WE GET STARTED:**

**To reiterate my plans for the future, I can neither confirm nor deny that a sequel will happen. I'm working on one, but I'm not sure yet if it's going to hold up. I might get a dozen chapters in, decide that it sucks, and shelve the project. The story that I have in mind replaces HTTYD2, and I hope to make it dramatically different. We'll see how that goes.**

**Another project that I would like to do is a series of one-shots to add to the Bound continuity. Ideally, I would have all of the one-shots taking place between Chapter 25 and this epilogue. Maybe one or two coming after the epilogue, if I can come up with anything decent.**

**In regard to those one-shots, PROMPTS ARE WELCOME, so please send me some! It will help me get my creative juices flowing, because right now I only have one idea that's more than a sentence written on paper.**

**If either of these things are eventually released, I'll add a new chapter to inform you all. Until then, we'll be stuck in limbo.**

**Thanks again to everybody who's checked out this story, you guys are the real heroes. And I hope this last chapter is good.**

**Note: The end of this chapter contains mild references to sexual content, because... well, we know what happens on a wedding night. I don't think it crosses the line into M-rated territory because there are no descriptions of explicit acts, so I'm leaving it. The important parts during the end of the chapter are Astrid's introspection.**

* * *

**_Epilogue: Bound_**

_FOUR YEARS LATER_

Astrid woke up smiling. The sun was spilling through her window, indicating that it was a rare, beautiful day on Berk. That only added to Astrid's mood. She rose from her bed, her nightgown flowing behind her as she walked, and stepped over to the window, looking out at the sea and the woods beyond.

It was her last day in this world as an unmarried woman.

She was now a young woman of nineteen, and it had been decided a few months ago that it was high time that contract between her and Hiccup finally came to fruition.

_Hiccup._ Five years ago, when the contract between them had been drafted and signed, she was furious. Now, she could not have been happier if she'd tried. Four years had now gone by since their people had accepted dragons, and the Isle of Berk was better for it. Their tribe had grown from its small roots to a legitimate power in the archipelago, on par with the wealth and strength of the Berserker and Meathead Tribes (if not above them, even).

And over that time, Astrid and Hiccup's relationship had grown, steadily as they grew to maturity and by now reaching a fever pitch. They were very much in love, and Hiccup was quite likely the only person more excited about their impending marriage than Astrid was. They'd spent weeks watching as the details were worked out and the families of allied chiefs were invited. It was a traditional autumn wedding, with all of the added pomp and frills of Hiccup's own status. Being the heir to the chiefdom of Berk made their wedding a prime destination.

Astrid crossed her room and opened her door, still clad in her nightgown as she drifted down the steps. Her mother and father were hard at work, but the sound of her footsteps on the staircase commanded their attention. Both of her parents cracked wide, contagious smiles.

"My darling daughter," Edna murmured as Astrid reached the bottom of the steps. She rushed at Astrid and wrapped her in a tight hug, "I've been waiting for this day."

"Me too, Mom," Astrid said, honest.

"You're going to be the most beautiful bride Berk has ever seen," Ingvar assured her.

Astrid smiled, looking down and tucking a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "I'm going to go feed Stormfly her breakfast," she said, and she grabbed a sack of fish from its place on the wall and shuffled over to the front door. She swung the door open and slipped through the opening, closing the door firm behind her.

The morning wind got to her quickly. Her nightgown was not exactly the most suitable piece of attire for braving cold weather. Nevertheless, she powered through the icy breeze and walked around the corner of her house, greeted by Stormfly's shed. The shed's door was pulled closed as a measure to protect the dragon from the cold, and as soon as Astrid put her hand on the doorknob, she heard a telltale squawk from inside.

"Morning, Stormfly," Astrid cooed through the wooden door. She turned the knob, carefully pushed the door open, and was immediately assailed by her dragon, the Nadder preening her like she was one of her own hatchlings. Astrid giggled, trying in vain to shield herself from the Nadder's shameless affection.

"Are you hungry, girl?" Astrid asked, knowing that the answer was and would always be _yes. _Stormfly stomped her big feet in answer, taking a few steps back so that Astrid could swing the bag of fish over her shoulder and drop it to the ground.

Stormfly trilled as a queen's ransom of fish spilled from the sack onto the floor of the shed, dipping down and immediately digging in. Astrid watched in silence, admiring the Nadder's beautiful scales as she was often wont to do. The dragon was almost always groomed to perfection, either by her own hand or by Astrid's. She took pride in taking good care of Stormfly. It was practically an adage of hers; if Astrid took care of Stormfly, Stormfly would take care of her.

In moments, the Nadder finished up her breakfast and looked up, nudging forward and badgering Astrid to take her flying.

"I'm sorry, Stormfly, but there's no time for that. You know what today is," Astrid said. It was a little disappointing, she loved going for a morning flight with her dragon, but today her schedule was absolutely stacked. Every little tradition _had _to be carried out, and there would be no shortage of dirty looks thrown her way if she dodged the day's responsibilities for a morning excursion with her dragon.

Stormfly huffed, but then gave an understanding squawk. It was a big day for her girl, and there would be plenty more flights to come! The Nadder jerked forward and preened Astrid some more, grooming a few locks of hair out of her face. Astrid giggled as she always did when the Nadder doted on her. "Go on, girl, go see what some of your friends are up to. We'll catch up this afternoon."

Stormfly squawked and bolted out of the shed, taking a few more running steps and then lifting off with a powerful _thump _of her wings. The downdraft buffeted Astrid and knocked her hair back in a blast of wind, which she quickly corrected with her fingers. As her dragon started to shrink into little more than a dot in the sky, Astrid turned on her heel and marched back inside.

When she returned to the kitchen, her mother was just finishing cooking breakfast. A delicious smell wafted into Astrid's nose and she smiled, doing her part to prep the table. A few minutes later, Edna served her breakfast on a pristine plate, grinning. "Now, eat up. You, young lady, have an all-day appointment at the bathhouse."

Astrid sat down, ate, and then headed back upstairs. She exchanged her nightgown for a regular set of clothes, knowing that what she wore was irrelevant. She settled on a crimson top to go with her usual armored skirt, and she didn't bother to braid her hair, allowing her blonde locks to fall down almost to her waist. It _would _be the last time that she publicly wore it unbound, after all.

Lastly, she grabbed her kransen as she had done many times before. She stared down at the circlet in her hands, and then looked at her reflection in the mirror. She flashed a smile at herself and lifted her hands over her head, gently sliding the kransen on. It would be removed later and tucked away for the foreseeable future, only seeing the light of day again if the gods blessed her with a daughter.

The knock at the door came a moment after that, and her mother's voice slipped in from the other side. Astrid examined her appearance in the mirror a final time and then walked toward the door, beaming.

It was time to face the future.

* * *

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III woke up to the sensation of being crushed by a dragon.

A sudden, unexpected weight crashed upon the bed and he was ripped from the bliss of sleep, all of a sudden assaulted by sunlight spilling in from the window and a burst of black scales near his face. Soft green eyes looked up at him, and the beast laying the front half of its body on his bed warbled heartwarmingly.

"Morning, Toothless," Hiccup grimaced. Toothless took his human's words for encouragement and proceeded to attempt climbing further onto the bed.

"Oh, no-no-no-no! Toothless, down!" Hiccup protested. The Night Fury stopped and looked at him, halfway onto the stack of furs. "I'm up, I'm up," Hiccup said, and he shooed the dragon off of his bed. Toothless galloped down to the floor and ran in two brief circles as Hiccup crawled out of bed, unreasonably excited.

"What's with you today, bud? Are you excited for my wedding?" Hiccup asked, offering his hand to the dragon. Instead of simply nudging forward into Hiccup's waiting hand, though, Toothless launched up and dragged his tongue across Hiccup's chest and face, coating the young man with a layer of saliva.

"_Ugh!" _Hiccup cried out in protest, and Toothless responded by licking him more. "Toothless, stop! C'mon, bud, you know that doesn't wash out easy!"

Toothless relented and cocked his head, his ears sticking out in humorous fashion as he appraised Hiccup with a blank, curious stare. Hiccup rubbed his face with the sleeve of his nightgown, looking down in disgust at the soiled fabric.

"Well, at least I'm going to be getting a serious bath pretty much all day long today…" Hiccup groaned. He scraped some of Toothless' saliva in his fingers and, getting an idea, flicked his fingers at the dragon to send a few droplets of the sticky drool right into Toothless' eyes. The Night Fury flinched and staggered backward, blinking rapidly and complaining.

"Oh, I don't want to hear it," Hiccup chastised. He stood up out of bed and stretched his arms over his head, working the sleep out of his body as Toothless recovered. After the tenth or eleventh cracking of bone in his joints, Hiccup decided he was ready. "Well, let's head downstairs, shall we?"

Toothless giddily led the way, only allowing Hiccup to cross the room and open the door before he bolted noisily down the steps. Hiccup followed with muted laughter and reached the first floor, turning to examine the main room with a grin.

Stoick was standing in the common room, wearing a smile. His huge hands were at his waist and fixed around the hilt of a sword, its blade stretching all the way down to the floor. Gobber was nearby, likewise beaming and carrying various supplies for preparing Hiccup for the ceremony.

"Good morning, son. Everything all right up there?" Stoick asked, his smile unflinching.

Hiccup nodded, "Yeah, Toothless is just a little more excited than usual."

"As the beastie should be, I think. It's his master's big day!" Gobber said.

Stoick nodded in agreement. "A big day it is—I've been looking forward to it for many years. Today, you become a man, my boy."

"Haven't you been saying that to me for years?" Hiccup asked, though there was absolutely no love lost between father and son in the moment. It was a mere joke, and it was also technically true. The night Stoick had signed the contract, he'd said that Hiccup was becoming a man because of it. That had been five years ago.

Stoick and Gobber shared a chuckle. "I suppose I have," he said. The Chief gestured towards the blade in his hands. "If you're ready, I think we'll start with this."

Hiccup approached his father, eyes fixed on the sword. He'd never seen its like before, but he knew that it was incredibly special. Intricate markings and patterns trailed from the end of the blade all the way to the pommel, and the crest of the Haddock family was clearly visible in the center of the guard above the hilt.

"This sword belonged to your grandfather, and his grandfather before him. It has also been mine for the last twenty-odd years. I gave it to your mother on our wedding day, and it's been passed down through our family since the founding days of Berk," Stoick said almost ritualistically. "Will you take it as yours now, son?"

"I will," Hiccup said, also ritualistically.

Stoick nodded, a hint of a tear in his eye, and he handed over the sword, still keeping its blade pointed toward the ground. Hiccup took the sword from his father and held it, getting a feel for the grip. It was heavy but felt good in his hands, like it belonged there. Of course, he'd never actually use it in battle.

"I'll spare you the lecture on the family history. You've changed most of it by now."

"For the better, I hope," Hiccup quipped in response.

Stoick nodded in wholehearted agreement. "Aye, for the better." Stoick lifted his right hand and set it on Hiccup's shoulder. "So, are you ready?"

Hiccup smiled. "Ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

The day flew by and evening quickly arrived, and the ceremony began in earnest.

Hiccup stood at the altar with Stoick and Gobber, the former officiating the ceremony and the latter taking the honor of Hiccup's best man. The nineteen-year-old groom stood tall and quiet, now grown from a talking fishbone to a spindly six-foot stack of lean, corded muscle. His twentieth birthday would pass at the end of winter, with Astrid's close behind in mid-spring. He wore a white tunic and pair of white trousers, and a heavy brown fur cape was draped over his shoulders. His auburn hair, now closer to a copper brown thanks to his age, was adorned with a crown of leaves. Toothless and Stormfly were also close at hand, both sitting respectfully against their natural playful whims.

The crowd in attendance for the ceremony was huge. The whole of Berk filled most of the seats, while important people from neighboring tribes took up most of the rest. The chieftains of every allied tribe and most of their heirs were present, from the Meatheads to the Bog Burglars to the Thunderheads.

The throng of people stood at the sound of a bell, and Astrid's entourage stepped into sight. Hiccup's breath hitched as she came around the corner; she was _beautiful._ Her white dress unsurprisingly mirrored his own outfit, though a pristine white fur cape was draped over her back to denote her status as the bride. Her blonde hair was down, flowing in long, brilliant locks that soaked up the sunlight and reflected it every which way, giving her a glow like that of a Valkyrie descending from the heavens. Wrapped around her forehead was a ring of small, pink flowers. Her _kransen_ was nowhere to be seen.

Hiccup stared in awe all the way up to the point that Astrid walked up the three small steps to meet him, standing across from him at the altar with barely two feet of space between them. He very nearly reached out to touch her, just to make sure that she was actually real, and this wasn't some sick dream. The only thing that stopped him was the sensation of hundreds of eyes being on him, so he settled with cracking a wide smile. Astrid smiled back at him, equally silent but no less thrilled.

Ruffnut stepped off to the side, having been named Astrid's maid of honor. Stoick cleared his throat, drawing all attention to him and the to-be-married couple at the altar. The sunset shined at the Chief's back, illuminating his and the two lovers' forms in an orange glow.

"Welcome, everyone. Today, we solidify the union of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and Astrid Alysanne Hofferson. We call upon the gods to ensure a fruitful marriage. Should any man or woman object to this marriage, let them speak."

Even as he said the words, Stoick cast a glare over the audience that silenced any possible objection. No one would speak against this marriage, _no one._

When no one made any sound for several seconds, Stoick nodded and continued with the readings. "Let us begin with the exchanging of the swords," he said, and Gobber stepped up first, the ancestral Haddock sword clasped in his hands. A golden wedding band dangled on the pommel of the sword, gleaming in the sunset. Ruffnut walked up to the altar next, a similar sword bearing the Hofferson crest in her grasp. Hiccup and Astrid took the swords from their attendants, waiting to exchange them.

"With her sword, the bride transfers the duty of protection from her family to her new husband. It is now the groom's responsibility to guard her from all harm, both physical and immaterial. And with his sword, the groom gifts his wife with an heirloom that shall remain in her hands until she bears a son and he comes of age," Stoick recited, "Both man and woman recognize that the oaths they take on this day are binding forevermore and sacred in the eyes of the gods, and though they are given in love, the swords symbolize the commitment they are about to make and shall pose a threat to either of them should they break these oaths."

Together, Hiccup and Astrid exchanged the swords and slipped the rings on one another's fingers. They joined their hands around the hilt of the Haddock sword, ready for the next phase of the ceremony: the vows.

"Astrid?" Stoick said, "Would you like to begin with your vows?"

Astrid nodded and fixed her gaze on Hiccup, four years older, wiser, and, well, hotter.

"Hiccup, the day I learned that we'd been engaged was the worst day of my entire life."

Hiccup froze, gulping and almost parting his lips to speak.

"It was, without a doubt, the most excruciating, horrifying, life-ruining moment," Astrid continued, "that I have ever experienced." The crowd was hushed, stunned. Hiccup closed his mouth in shock, his mind racing with a thousand horrified thoughts. Was she going to leave him, right in front of the entire archipelago? Had she led him on for years, just for the sake of this final act of revenge?

"But it was also before I really knew you."

In an instant, Hiccup's entire body relaxed.

"I still remember that conversation at the forge the next day. I think it was the first time I talked to you, _really_ talked to you, since we were kids. You were just this boy in the forge, too untrustworthy to be tasked with anything else, and not a warrior like me. If anything, the extent of our relationship was supposed to be periodically coming in to have my axe serviced," Astrid recalled, "But that day was the beginning of something that I never could've imagined. The five years since then have been a whirlwind, and I don't think I realized it, but I've steadily fallen harder and harder in love with you ever since.

"Hiccup Haddock, you are everything I could ever want in a husband; compassionate, wise, understanding. With you, I know that you'll never try to change me. And because of that, I vow to never, ever stop loving you. I swear to stay by your side until we're old and gray, and to support you in everything that you do. Because from today on, and for the rest of our days, we are bound together by an inseparable bond. I can't wait to start this new journey with you, and I hope you know that I love you, so, so much."

Astrid finished, Hiccup smiled, and Stoick nodded. "And Hiccup? Your vows, please?"

Hiccup nodded at his father and met Astrid's eyes once again. Her blue orbs seemed to smile just as hard as her lips, twinkling in the sunset. His heart swelled in his chest, so he spoke from it. "Astrid, I've been in love with you since I was old enough to understand what the word love meant. I dreamed of having you, mostly because I thought that I never could. When we started getting older, and the rest of the kids our age got bigger, a-and Viking-er, I didn't. I was the most un-Viking Viking you'd ever seen."

A laugh slipped from Astrid's lips, beautiful and angelic and _real._ "Yeah, you kind of were."

Hiccup grinned and continued. "Over the last five years I've been lucky enough to have you in my life, even though neither of us really consented to what brought us together. But this strange, crazy little thing that we have between us has done nothing but reinforce my love for you. I love you today more than I did yesterday, and yesterday I loved you even more than I did the day before. Every day that has passed since our engagement has brought the same. You are the only one for me, milady, and I mean that from the absolute bottom of my heart.

"I love you, Astrid Hofferson, and I vow to keep on loving you every day more fiercely than the last. I vow to always treat you with the respect that you deserve, and to never leave your side for another, _ever. _I swear to keep you from all harm, but never to restrain you in your life and never try to make you into something that you're not. You know who you are, and what you want. It's my favorite thing about you. And I'm more grateful that I'm part of what you want than I can ever express."

Astrid melted, joyous tears trying to build in her eyes. She fought them off, cracking another smile that practically radiated warmth.

Stoick allowed himself the slightest of sniffles. He brushed away a tear with a huge finger and sighed, "Well, here I am, an old man, and I'm trying not to cry at a wedding." The crowd chuckled. "On top of those moving vows, I want to add a few words, if I may?"

Stoick looked to Astrid and Hiccup for permission, and without any hesitation they both nodded in approval.

"I arranged this couple to be married nearly five years ago, against either of their wills. I was in a different place then. I feared for my own son's future, and I tried to fix that by setting him up for life, a last effort to _force_ him to become the man that I wanted him to be." Stoick began, "My son was angry with me when he learned, and I'm sure Astrid here was even angrier with me than he was. But together, they accomplished things that I never could've foreseen, and I have been fortunate enough to witness what began as a mere arrangement growing into a love stronger than anything that has been thrown at it. These two fantastic young Vikings take me back to my own youth, and I am happier than ever to finally make good on that piece of paper from several years ago."

Stoick nodded to Hiccup and Astrid, and the pair joined hands and locked eyes, green meeting blue and pupils enlarging as they stared into each other's souls. The Chief produced a long, ceremonial cloth and began to bind their hands together, carefully executing the sacred knot.

"And now, it is my great honor to declare these two brave Vikings married, in the eyes of man and the gods alike." Stoick declared. He glanced at his son, "Hiccup, you may kiss your bride."

Hiccup and Astrid both surged forward, meeting in the middle for a passionate kiss. Their hands lifted up, bound by the ceremonial cloth, and their grips on each other tightened for a moment before they pulled away. The two lovers grinned at each other and someone yelled, kicking off a round of raucous applause.

"_To the future Chief and Chieftess!"_ Stoick roared, jubilant beyond description.

Toothless sprinted to Hiccup and Astrid, headbutting them both and lolling his tongue around as he looked up at them. The Night Fury suddenly leaped up and licked Hiccup's face, coating his boy in saliva from the chest up. Hiccup recoiled, jerking backward and taking Astrid with him since their hands were still bound. Astrid barely stopped herself from crashing into Hiccup's saliva-covered head, but she laughed in spite of herself.

"Ugh, Toothless! Again!? You know that that doesn't wash out! Seriously, bud?" Hiccup groaned. The crowd busted out into uncontrollable laughter, and the Night Fury purred as if he had absolutely no understanding that what he'd done was wrong in any way.

"Let me help you two with that," Gobber stepped in and undid the knotted cloth joining Hiccup and Astrid's hands. Hiccup promptly pulled away and dragged the sleeve of his coat across his face, turning the pristine white fabric into an off-white color with the sticky drool.

Hiccup met Astrid's eyes and they both giggled in spite of themselves. They quieted, and Astrid snatched a fistful of Hiccup's tunic—making sure not to touch the saliva-stained portion—and dragged him forward, connecting their lips in a more feverish, wanting kiss. When they parted, Hiccup beamed, having never grown tired of the many, many times she'd done that.

"I love you," Hiccup said, somehow more confident with the words than he'd ever been.

"I love you, too," Astrid said, equally poised. Her hand slid down to grasp his, and she quickly squeezed it.

Stoick cleared his throat, again drawing all attention to himself. "And now, I think we all know what time it is!" the Chief bellowed. The crowd roared in approval; it was reception time.

"Yes!" Stoick roared, encouraging the raucous crowd. "Everyone, to the Great Hall, and let the bride and groom race one another on the backs of their dragons!"

Hiccup and Astrid locked eyes and grinned. This had probably been the part they'd most looked forward to. With the integration of dragons into Berkian society, the traditional race between the bride and groom to the reception had been changed from a footrace to an air race, albeit with an agreed-upon course that looped around the island.

The crowd of onlookers promptly shuffled off toward the Great Hall, heading in a disorderly mob from the cliff where the ceremony had been held. Hiccup and Astrid made to go to their dragons, only to be stopped by Stoick.

"I just want to say to you both…" Stoick started, trailing off. He placed one hand each on the bride and groom's shoulders, cracking one of the warmest smiles that Hiccup had ever seen from Stoick the Vast. "I am so proud, and so thankful, for the both of you. Astrid…"

Stoick trailed off, causing an uncomfortable seizing of Astrid's chest. Stoick then smiled warmly at her, his green eyes twinkling like stars in the night sky. "Welcome to the family, lass. May you have a very long and very happy marriage to my son."

"I would like nothing more, Chief," Astrid answered, giving a genuine nod and flashing a brilliant smile

"Stoick," Stoick corrected. "You should know this by now, lass." He chortled and patted the two newlyweds on their shoulders. "Now, go! It's high time for that race!"

Stoick trotted off with Gobber, leaving Astrid and Hiccup to go to their dragons. Toothless wriggled excitedly, tired of having been on the ground for the entire day. Hiccup hadn't even been _allowed_ to fly him, and that had caused a painstaking itch in both of them.

"Shall I give you a head start, milady?" Hiccup snarked and leaped onto Toothless' back, fixing his prosthetic into the pedal.

"Nah, I'd rather start this marriage off by beating you fair and square," Astrid answered. Stormfly squawked and Astrid leaped onto the Nadder's back, situating herself in the saddle.

"Is that a challenge, then?" Hiccup asked, smirking.

"You're godsdamned right it is," Astrid said. "Go, girl!"

Stormfly took off, scrambling as fast as her too-large legs would carry her and leaping off of the cliffside.

"Oh, jumping the count now, are we?" Hiccup called after her. He drove Toothless forward into a run and the Night Fury leaped off of the edge, flapping his powerful black wings to catch up to the Nadder. Astrid squeezed Stormfly's flank with her knees, prompting the dragon to fly faster.

The first part of the race course sent the bride and groom out to the sea to loop around the Guardians before heading back. Astrid refused to look back at Hiccup, and the boy indulged her, hanging back at what was nowhere near Toothless' top speed. Within a half-minute, they looped around the Guardians and headed back, where they would have to circle the island once before heading out to the Guardians a second time and then to the Great Hall.

Hiccup spurred Toothless to pick up speed, creeping up beside Astrid and Stormfly as they neared the island. Astrid sensed they were there and leaned down onto Stormfly's back, hoping to increase their speed just a little by minimizing any wind resistance that she created by sitting upright.

They circled the back of the island, passing by Raven Point and over the western woods. Bride and groom both looked down at the sight, recalling all of the arguments and adventures and private moments that had occurred in those woods.

As they passed over the trees and approached the sea for the second time, Hiccup and Toothless pulled up beside Stormfly. Hiccup leaned on his side in the saddle, way too comfortable and confident on Toothless' back.

"You know, Nadders really do have a lot going for them. They're excellent trackers, and their scales are really hard which gives them great armor pretty much everywhere," Hiccup drawled.

"Oh, don't you start this with me," Astrid warned. She knew _exactly_ where this was going.

Hiccup didn't heed her warning, counting all the positive traits about Deadly Nadders on his fingers as Toothless flew. The Guardians quickly approached up ahead of them. "They're incredibly precise with their tail spines, and their fire is among the hottest of all dragon species, too. All in all, a pretty great attacker."

"Hiccup."

"And you know, they've got pretty good speed, too, I'll admit." Astrid cocked a glare at him. Hiccup clicked his tongue, openly goading her with a smirk. "Problem is, it's just not enough."

Toothless took the cue and _zoomed_ ahead, channeling all of the world-beating speed that he had. The Night Fury turned to the left and hugged the turn around the Guardians with impeccable precision.

Astrid hit her fist on the saddle and she and Stormfly looped past the statues after them, but all hope of beating Hiccup and Toothless was totally lost. It had probably been lost from the beginning, but he'd indulged her.

Jackass.

"C'mon, girl, we can at least not get beat too badly," Astrid encouraged Stormfly. The Nadder picked up to top speed, managing to not fall far behind the Night Fury zooming back to town. The telltale scream of a speeding Night Fury echoed on the calm sea, even reaching Astrid's ears, and they reached the end of the race.

Just a few seconds later, Astrid and Stormfly reached land and flew the short remaining distance to the steps of the Great Hall, where the majority of the crowd that had witnessed their wedding stood applauding. Stormfly pulled up and landed, and Astrid leaped off of the dragon. Toothless sat regally and Hiccup turned to greet her, wrapping his long arms around her and dispelling any annoyance that she might've had with him.

* * *

Once everyone was in the Great Hall, the next few traditions began in earnest. Hiccup was called upon to drive his sword into a thick wooden column. Astrid knew the superstition, that the depth that the sword sank through the wood would judge the endurance of their marriage.

The crowd formed a wide circle around Hiccup and the post. Astrid stood at arm's length from her new husband on the inside track of the ring, accompanied by her parents and Stoick. A scabbard dangled from Hiccup's hip, the hilt of a large sword sticking out of its end. The mob howled as he stepped forward, ready to unsheathe his blade and bury it through the pillar.

"Woo! Show 'em how it's done, Hiccy!" Tuffnut hollered, already slurring his words. As if to sell the point, the male Thorston took another swig from his cup of ale, sounding even drunker than before when he lowered the cup and yelled again.

"Don't miss!" Snotlout howled with laughter, also similarly drunk. Hiccup didn't acknowledge them, staring down the column of wood three paces in front of him. His hand trailed down to the hilt of the sheathed sword, fingers carefully wrapping around it and clenching as he prepared himself. He took a deep breath, pursing his lips as he exhaled.

For some reason, Astrid clasped her hands together in anticipation, holding them at her stomach and tensing. She had no reason to doubt that she and Hiccup would last, not one, but there would always be some kind of stigma if he didn't bury the sword deep enough. It was just superstition, and with a fair number of Vikings, that was enough to pass judgment.

In a single move, Hiccup ripped the sword from the scabbard and took a single pace forward, wheeling the sword around and driving it straight through the wood. He pushed as hard as he could and the blade sank all the way to the hilt with a _crunch, _wood splintering and cracking as the steel cleaved through it.

The crowd gasped in awe and Stoick sauntered up to the post, placing a meaty hand on it and peering at the opposite side of it, eyeing the blade sticking through the other side. He leaned back, cracked an enormous smile, and then raised his drink into the air.

"I don't believe it gets any clearer than that!" Stoick announced, and the crowd erupted with a raucous cheer. Astrid beamed as Hiccup turned around, and with a similar grin he crossed the distance between them in a few quick steps, lifting her chin with a gentle finger so that he could kiss her. The crowd continued to holler, encouraged, and Hiccup pulled back with a giddy grin.

Astrid matched his grin and whispered, "Nice stab." Hiccup somehow grinned harder.

"Let us feast!" Stoick roared, his voice echoing through the Great Hall, and another deafening cheer went up in answer. The crowd broke up into pieces, filtering to their seats at the many tables filling the room. As they reached their seats at the head of the high table, Hiccup stepped out in front of Astrid and pulled her chair out for her, a heavy throne made of stone bearing several carvings to signify Astrid's status as the bride. Astrid tossed her new husband a smile and sat in the seat, smirking to herself as Hiccup briefly struggled to push her and her seat back into the table.

"Before we begin!" Stoick raised his voice once more, quieting the loud chatter filling the Hall. He stood a short distance from Astrid and Hiccup's seat, lifting a ceremonial hammer high above his head. Astrid knew from the shape that it was a replica of Mjölnir, a holy symbol meant just for her.

Stoick walked over to Astrid, lowering the hammer to carry it with two hands, one huge hand pressed against the hammer's steel face. "May the great god Thor grant these newlyweds his blessing, and ensure many healthy heirs," Stoick declared. He handed the hammer to Astrid, who nodded and placed the replica in her lap. The crowd applauded; another tradition fulfilled.

"And last but not least, the serving of the bridal ale," Stoick said. Gobber appeared seemingly out of nowhere, carrying a tray with two golden goblets and a pitcher of ale. It was meant to go to Astrid—she had lost the bride-running (bride-riding? Maybe not, that term could potentially be corrupted by some of the less mature Vikings in the village. Bride-_flying_, that was a better one.) and was supposed to serve the ale to her husband as a result.

But it was Hiccup who rose from his seat, wearing a smile and flagging Gobber down with a hand. The blacksmith approached Hiccup without complaint; they must've planned this in advance, no matter the outcome of the race. Hiccup adamantly grabbed the pitcher and both goblets in his hands, setting one cup in front of both his seat and Astrid's before pouring a healthy serving of the drink into the goblets.

Astrid looked at Hiccup with a cocked eyebrow. The crowd clapped, unbothered by this technical breach of tradition. Most of the people were probably too drunk by now to care.

"And with that, let us begin with the feast!" Stoick decided. Another round of applause and pleased shouts circulated through the room, a few cries of _'Finally!' _rising from one of the tables across the way.

Hiccup plopped down in his seat and grabbed his goblet, taking a short sip from it. Astrid fastened her fingers around her own cup, but before she dared to drink, she leaned into him.

"You do know I'm supposed to serve the ale, right? It's tradition."

"Of course. But we're not really a traditional couple, are we, milady?"

Astrid smiled, touched. "No, I guess not. And I'm happy with that." She took a sip from her drink, and Hiccup reached over to clasp her hand and interlock their fingers.

"Me, too."

* * *

The feast was as extravagant as anything that Astrid had ever seen. Berk's cooks had outdone themselves, and all of the visiting tribes had brought various foods from their own islands to add to the spread. Musicians filled the Great Hall with their best music, and a dance floor had been opened up for reveling Vikings.

Hiccup and Astrid sat side by side, hand in hand, at the end of the table. Stoick was to Hiccup's right, while Ingvar and Edna Hofferson sat on the opposite side to Astrid's left. Gobber sat in the first seat on the side of the table, followed next by Ruffnut and the rest of their friends. Across the table from them sat the most important of the visiting dignitaries: Camicazi and Big-Boobied Bertha from the Bog Burglars, Mogadon and Thuggory from the Meatheads, and Dagur and Heather of the Berserker Tribe, representing the Hooligans' closest allies. A few other representatives, the chiefs and heirs of the Visithugs, Hysterics, and a handful of other tribes more or less completed the set.

Astrid and Camicazi were surprisingly similar in appearance, both sporting long blonde hair. The heiress to the Bog Burglars did, however, have a larger bust than Astrid, complete with a somehow smaller waist. They'd first met at The Thing a few months after the end of the war with dragons, and they'd surprisingly hit it off.

Thuggory and Mogadon were two peas from the same pod. Thuggory, the arrogant young heir who was Astrid and Hiccup's age, had shown no shame pursuing Astrid at that first Thing. He was a skilled fighter and a shameless womanizer, yet Astrid held a begrudging respect for him. Thuggory was perceptive and unexpectedly smart, though nowhere near Hiccup's level, of course. Still, she had to admit that she was perfectly happy only seeing either of the Meathead men no more than once or twice a year.

Lastly, Dagur and Heather were good friends (now, anyway) of the happy couple with a complicated history. The two were siblings, sharing the seat of power on Berserk with one another. Dagur sported wild reddish hair and a collection of wilder tattoos. Heather's hair, by contrast, was long and as black as night. Along with Camicazi, the Berserker woman was one of Astrid's closest friends.

The other tribes had steadily accepted peace with the dragons, though none of them were as advanced with them as Berk. That first Thing had been a real doozy, more shouting and yelling than diplomacy. In the end, they'd come to tentative agreements, and war had been avoided. Good thing, too, since Astrid was willing to bet her bride price that the Hooligans would've won any sort of war against the others. Not that she'd wanted to go to war, of course.

"To the happy couple!" Gobber toasted at one point, downing whatever he was drinking in a single gulp. The blacksmith was well and truly drunk, having taken celebrating the marriage of his two favorite youngsters to the very next level.

Further down the table, Ruffnut downed a drink and rose from her seat and walked away from the table in the direction of the dance floor, and immediately Snotlout and Fishlegs pushed out of their seats to follow her, bickering under their breaths all the way. The two were doggedly pursuing her, and Astrid knew that no matter what she claimed, Ruffnut _loved_ the attention. For now, she was at least stringing them along. The Thorston girl had proudly declared that she had no intention of marrying anytime soon.

Funny how Astrid of all people had tied the knot before Ruff did.

"Gobber, you should probably slow down, my friend. Have some mutton," Stoick coaxed the blacksmith, slightly embarrassed that he was having to babysit his grown-man friend. Gobber drunkenly agreed and dug into another serving of the mutton.

Of course, he was hardly the only one at the table who was liquored up.

"Brother, congratulations!" Dagur seconded Gobber's toast, "I'm so pleased to see you a married man—we always knew you'd grow up!"

Mogadon snorted, "I wouldn't say that."

Neither Hiccup nor Astrid gave Mogadon the satisfaction of an answer, and the Meathead Chief laughed with Thuggory before taking a hearty sip from his mead.

"Thank you, Dagur, but you don't have to keep saying that," Hiccup answered. Dagur didn't respond, digging further into his drink.

"Seriously, it's great to see you two finally married," Camicazi said, "I won't steal anything from either of you tonight in celebration of the occasion." Camicazi grinned at them, only half-joking. She sipped from her drink, "And gods _damn,_ what is this honey mead recipe? It puts the horse piss in Bog to shame!"

A laugh rose up around the table, and Stoick said that the recipe was a trade secret of the Hooligan Tribe. Camicazi rolled her eyes and warned that she would find a hardcopy of the formula and steal it before taking another luxurious sip.

"Oh, and I almost forgot: the next time we're all together, there'd better be a little Hiccup on the way!" Camicazi demanded.

Astrid gulped and locked eyes with Hiccup. They'd been lucky to last this long, honestly, before talk of children reached their ears. Astrid definitely _wanted_ to have kids with Hiccup—_eventually_—but the topic never failed to make either of them uncomfortable.

"We'll, uh… we'll see what we can do, Cami," Hiccup said, clasping his hand with Astrid's and interlocking their fingers. His brow furrowed with embarrassment.

Another hour or two passed by. The mead continued to flow freely, and the food just seemed to keep coming. The reception was a bigger indicator of Berk's prosperity than, well, anything. In the past four years since dragons became their allies, Berk was churning out more food and drink products than ever before. There may have been more mouths to feed with the dragons taking up permanent residence on the island, but there was also suddenly more than enough to go around to both dragons and humans.

And it was all because of her husband.

Astrid cast another glance at Hiccup. By now, he seemed bored of the reception. In a room full of intoxicated Vikings, they were probably two of the few truly sober ones, though the interpretation of "sober" was loose at best. Astrid, when she wanted to, could drink anyone under the table, and she'd helped herself to a few cups tonight. Hiccup realized that she was watching him and met her eyes, flashing that smile that she so loved. On a whim, she leaned in and kissed him, keeping it short and sweet as the reception raged around them.

Eventually, the call came.

Stoick stood up from his seat and cleared his throat, signaling for the musicians to stop. Once the music ceased, the revelers calmed, and one by one all of the eyes in the Great Hall fell on the Chief.

"It is now time for the bride and groom to retire to the wedding chamber," Stoick said. The crowd erupted, pounding applause and happy howls echoing around the ancient hall.

Hiccup and Astrid stood, surprisingly comfortable, and stepped away from the table hand in hand. Someone, probably Camicazi, let out a loud wolf-whistle and Hiccup's cheeks burned. Stoick and Astrid's parents guided them out of the hall as countless drunken Vikings clapped Hiccup on the back in congratulations.

They exited the Great Hall with their families, stepping into the cold night air. With a night like this, frost would form on the grass by morning. Such were the weather patterns on Berk.

"We trust that you two can find your way home on your own?" Stoick asked. Hiccup and Astrid nodded.

Stoick and Astrid's parents moved to head back inside, but Hiccup stopped them. "Wait," he started. Stoick turned, "Dad, can I have a word?"

Stoick nodded and Hiccup left Astrid's side, walking down a few steps with his father. Astrid turned to her parents and smiled at them. Edna surged forward and hugged her, joyous tears starting to form in her eyes.

"My baby girl, all grown up. I'm so proud of you," Edna choked out.

Ingvar hugged her next, "As am I, daughter. You have done us right proud."

Astrid pulled them both into one final hug, a hug that was effectively the end of her childhood. She was a woman now, married off to a man that she loved with all of her heart. There had been a time when she'd thought this day would never come, that she'd remain unbound and free of any man's clutches and fight dragons as a shieldmaiden, forever pure and unmarried.

She'd never been so happy to be so wrong.

"Mom, Dad… I love you guys, so much." Astrid managed, feeling some tears prickle at her own eyes.

"We love you too, Astrid. With everything that we are," Edna said.

When mother, father, and daughter pulled apart, Astrid reached out and clasped a hand with each of them. "Thank you," she said, and that was all.

Edna's eyes sparkled and she nodded. She knew what her daughter had meant beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Then, her parents slipped away, back into the Great Hall to continue celebrating. Astrid turned to where Hiccup had gone and saw Hiccup speaking at a whisper to Stoick. Father and son clasped a hand over one another's forearms, and Astrid thought she saw Hiccup say 'thank you' to his father. Stoick nodded, and made his way back up the steps, offering a similar nod to Astrid before disappearing into the Great Hall as well.

Astrid padded down the stone steps to meet Hiccup, and they locked their hands together.

"Ready to go home, milady?" Hiccup asked her. She nodded, an ecstatic smile if there ever was one gracing her face. Together, they trotted down the steps and down the dirt path, past both of their childhood homes to a new house that had been built on one of the cliffs. It had been built for them recently, meant to remain uninhabited until they were married.

Hiccup tentatively pushed open the front door, holding it open so that Astrid could step inside. He followed and closed the door, locking it shut behind him, and they gazed for a moment at the new furniture in the room. It was extremely similar to their childhood homes, looking more like a mix of the two than anything else. There was a hearth in the back of the building, and the kitchen took up the side of the house opposite from their room. A small staircase led up to a loft that served as the second floor.

Hiccup gingerly grasped Astrid's hand. Their eyes met in the darkness and they nodded, each wearing a smile as they turned their attentions to their bedroom. They crossed the common room and slid into the small alcove guarding the door, pushing it open silently. They stepped inside the room, eyeing the large bed meant for them.

Astrid turned and kissed him, soft and gentle at first only to slowly increase in intensity. With a swift brush of her hands, Astrid detached the fur cape from his back, letting it fall to the floor. Hiccup did the same with her cape, brown and white furs hitting the wood at their feet.

They kissed again and slowly, little by little, clothing dropped to the floors. They ended up on the furs, stripped down to their undergarments, and Hiccup carefully combed his fingers through Astrid's brilliant hair. Her hair splayed out on the furs, rays of brilliant blonde that might as well have been the sun.

Hiccup looked down at her lovingly. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" Astrid half-smiled, silent. "Because you are. You're the most beautiful woman in the world. No one else even holds a candle to you."

Astrid smiled softly, embarrassed by his assertion and yet, frankly, rather aroused. It wasn't the _first_ time they'd gotten intimate—being in a relationship for the better part of four years while being at their age was bound to include some experimentation—but it didn't make the moment feel any less special. It felt like the first time she'd looked into his green eyes, and he into her blue ones.

He'd turned out pretty beautiful, too. He'd grown up alongside her, changing from that awkward, skinny frame into a tall young man that was all lean, sinewy muscle. She'd found him attractive when they were younger, and as they'd grown older and more mature, she'd found him even more so.

"I've always loved your eyes," she said, randomly. She felt a hint of embarrassment, the ale was talking just as much as she was, but when she met Hiccup's gaze, she found no scorn or discontent in him.

"My eyes?" he repeated, stifling a chuckle and settling for a soft smile.

Astrid nodded wistfully, Hiccup's grin affirming to her that she could double down. "Your eyes. You have the most incredible eyes… gorgeous, kind. There's so much intelligence behind them, and no one ever seemed to notice that. I've always thought so. And your smile… just seeing your smile can make my worst day a good one."

It was strange, that they were covering these bases now when they'd gone this far together before. They'd whispered similar words to one another several times deep in the throes of lovemaking, but still it felt special. They were laying themselves bare, as if preparing for this new stage of their life together. Hiccup leant down and kissed her, tender and loving and reciprocating every ounce of her love for him.

When he pulled away, he gingerly grasped her hand, the one with the wedding band on it. In the darkness, Astrid couldn't see the patterns inlaid in the metal or the two dragon scales fixed into either side, but it didn't matter to her. All that mattered to her was that he wore it, and that he never took it off.

Hiccup smiled, lighting up the dark room. "Wife."

He trailed one of his hands down her leg, sending an electric tingling trailing along her entire body, just like it did every single time they got this close and this intimate. Astrid's head rolled back for a moment, and she forced herself to look up at him, meeting his soft green eyes in the darkness and answering.

"Husband."

Her mother had told her on that first night, the night that she'd learned of her engagement to the village screw-up, that one day Astrid would thank her mother and father for this. In the moment, Astrid hadn't believed her, even if she'd been willing to give _this_ a slight chance. When it had come to Hiccup, she'd been so caught up in what she was _supposed _to feel and not focused enough on what she _did _feel. She'd refused to acknowledge the crush she'd admittedly already had, convincing herself that she was _not _supposed to feel such things for the village's walking disaster.

Before they'd come here, retiring to their brand-new bedroom and their brand-new life, she'd thanked them. It had been short and sweet, simple and easy to ignore. But her mother had understood, Astrid knew.

She had a sneaking suspicion that a similar thing had happened with Hiccup and his father.

One thing led to another, and very soon after that, they were nothing but skin under furs.

"I love you," Hiccup said.

Astrid would've thought that she'd been scared of something like this. Of giving herself so completely to a man. But she wasn't. This crazy little thing between her and Hiccup that they'd spent so long avoiding, never even broaching the topic with each other… it was everything that she needed. Everything that she _wanted._

She wanted him, and _only him._

"I love you, too," Astrid answered.

Because she meant it. She'd loved him when he trained in the woods with her, when he'd suddenly gotten good in dragon training. She'd loved him when he was sneaking off for the entire day, secretly hiding a Night Fury in the forest, when he'd twisted her inside and out with anger because of his secrets. And she'd loved him when he showed her the truth about dragons and opened her up to the prospect of a whole new life, one without the stain of bloodshed and death darkening every single day. She'd always loved him, whether she realized it or not.

She wondered for just a moment if they ever would've found each other without that stupid contract, if they would've ever fallen in love without it. The thought was chased from her mind almost as soon as it appeared.

She knew that they would've, no matter what. They'd been bound by the gods even before they were bound by men, by pencil and paper. If not for that contract, he would've swept her off her feet somehow, probably still involving something to do with that dragon. While she was the perfect Viking, Hiccup was everything else. He was kind and smart and innovative and no one ever even tried to do the things that he did, because they said it was impossible or pointless. He'd always thought the opposite of things like that, and she loved that about him. They were so different, and it was what made the two of them so strong.

Without Hiccup, Berk would still be the dark, cruel place that it had been for so long; an island marred by war and destruction. It wasn't anymore, thanks to him. _She _wasn't the dark, cruel person that she'd been either. She was who she was today because of him; a better and brighter person. She was the first to believe in him, and because of that she would never stop believing in him.

Whatever came for them, they would face together. They would stand side by side, or back to back, and face trouble head-on. No matter what, they'd get through it. There would always be a Hiccup and Astrid.

And nothing would ever change that.

_THE END_


	27. Sequel and Editing

**[6/15/2020]: Hello, readers! This page was originally put up for a different purpose, so I'm commandeering it to track my edits to _Bound._ If this is your first time finishing the story, you should know that there is a sequel, titled _Ghosts,_ that will be completed by June 27th. It follows the continuity set up in _Bound_ and explores what I imagine to be the resulting changes to the narrative of HTTYD2. If you had a gripe that parts of _Bound_ were too similar to the original movie, I hope you'll find _Ghosts_ to be markedly different.**

**Thanks for reading _Bound, _and I hope you'll continue on the journey laid out by the sequel! If you have feedback to give, I'd love to hear it.**

* * *

**From this point on, this page will track the edits to _Bound_ that make up the _Definitive Edition_ project. I will edit each chapter at my own pace and update as I see fit. The nature of these edits will primarily be for worldbuilding details, narrative cohesion, minor dialogue changes, and general nitpicks. The overarching plot and the journey our characters go on will not change.**

**Here are the 26 chapters and the date that they have been officially updated. If there is no date posted, the chapter will be updated sometime in the future. I have no formal schedule, just doing it as it comes to me.**

**1\. Arranged (updated 6/12/20)**

**2\. An Axe to Grind (updated 6/14/20)**

**3\. New Student (updated 6/14/20)**

**4\. Eye of the Dragon (updated 6/15/20)**

**5\. Inventions (updated 6/19/20)**

**6\. Useful**

**7\. Useless**

**8\. Raven Point**

**9\. Welcome to Dragon Training**

**10\. Forbidden Friendship**

**11\. Trial and Error**

**12\. To Be a Dragon**

**13\. Matters of the Heart**

**14\. Hiccup's Secret**

**15\. The Return of the Chief**

**16\. Good Dragons**

**17\. Contact**

**18\. Living Nightmare**

**19\. All My Secrets**

**20\. Race to Dragon Island**

**21\. Ragnarök**

**22\. Healing**

**23\. A New Dawn**

**24\. Back In the Air**

**25\. Out of the Ashes**

**26\. Bound**


End file.
